


World of Shadows

by staringatthesky



Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon Het Relationship, Drama, F/M, Family, Fights, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-31
Updated: 2012-10-30
Packaged: 2017-11-17 10:18:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 51,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/550506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/staringatthesky/pseuds/staringatthesky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A rewrite of Eclipse from Rosalie's POV.</p><p>Because there was so much more than just Bella and Edward on the line when Victoria and her newborn army came.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Wagers

“Go, go, go!” Emmett shouted.

Beside him Jasper was silent, but he was leaning forward and frowning in fierce concentration, as intent on the television in front of them as Emmett was. On screen the flag dropped and there was a cartoon roar as the race began.

Emmett, Jasper and I were playing a Mario Kart tournament, and the two of them were starting the play off to see who would battle me for the honour of ultimate champion. While Alice and Edward were at school the three of us had been spending a lot of time together, a lot of it in hard fought competition (most of which was either ridiculous, pointless or both) as we looked for a way to channel our energy.

“Whooo!” Emmett crowed, as his Yoshi overtook Jasper’s Wario on the curve. “Gonna kick your ass!”

I considered the two of them sitting side by side on the sofa for a minute and then casually sat back in my chair, crossing my legs and letting my skirt ride up my thighs. Emmett’s eyes flicked from the television to me and then back again, and I hid my smile. Slowly I licked my lips and raised my index finger to my mouth, letting my lips open slightly. Yes, okay, disgustingly obvious, but Emmett was not exactly one for subtlety! His attention was now half on me and half on the game.

Jasper met my eyes for a brief second and then looked away. Pretending to be engrossed in watching I leaned forward and let my shoulder drop so that the straps of my top slid down my arm, exposing most of my breasts. Judging my moment I twitched my other shoulder forward so that my shirt dropped completely, spilling breasts over the top. Emmett’s eyes left the television completely, his little kart sailed off the edge of a cliff and Jasper flew home to victory.

Crowing with laughter, I rocked back in my chair and pulled my clothes back into place as Emmett glared at me indignantly.

“You _bitch_ Rose, you did that on purpose! Fucking hell!”

“Of course it was on purpose!” I giggled, as Jasper grinned at me. “I wanted Jasper to win. He’s much easier to beat at this game, and I’m sick of losing to you two all the time!”

“You dirty cheat…I’ll bloody beat _you_!” Emmett dove at me, grabbing my ankles as I moved away just an instant too late and throwing me over his shoulder with a resounding smack on my ass. I laughed as I hung upside down, looking at Jasper through my hair.

“Thanks Jas,” I gasped. “It wouldn’t have worked as well without you.”

Jasper ducked his head, laughing too and dodging easily as Emmett swung a fist at him.

“You are fucking creepy sometimes Jasper!” he exclaimed. “It’s one thing to calm people down or cheer them up, but it’s damn disturbing that you waste your talents giving someone a boner when they’re supposed to be playing a game!”

“Boner, huh?” I murmured, reaching between Emmett’s legs.

He snorted and slapped my hand away, then tossed me onto the sofa and sat on me. “I don’t think so! Don’t think you’ll be getting any for a while baby doll, not after that little stunt. I can’t believe the two of you could be so _unprincipled_ as to fuck with Mario kart _…_ ”

I laughed, and then shrieked as Emmett smacked me again. Fighting back a grin he shook his head at me. “Shame on both of you!” he said sternly, and then broke up laughing. “God, it was well done though babe…there’s a reason I’m always on your side, since you’re a devious piece of work when you want something!”

He half stood up so that I could wriggle out from underneath him and then settled back onto the sofa, pulling me into his lap. I buried my face in his neck and breathed him in, as always finding comfort in his strong arms around me and the scent of him filling my head. I kissed him, and felt his big, gentle hands caressing my back and leg.

“Hey pretty girl,” he murmured, his lips in my hair.

Jasper sighed and flipped the television from the game channel to a news feed, but I didn’t pay him any attention. I didn’t pay much attention to anything for some time, apart from Emmett’s golden eyes staring into mine and the feel of his hands stroking my hair and his lips barely brushing mine as he breathed. _Love you, want you, need you…always._

I was so caught up in our own world, that it wasn’t until Alice and Edward returned from school that I tore my gaze away from Emmett and considered the rest of the family. Alice flitted over to Jasper and kissed him, as Edward stood and began flipping through the mail.

“Bella still grounded then?” Emmett asked in amusement. He thought it was hilarious that Bella’s father insisted Edward only visit during supervised hours as part of her punishment for riding motorbikes with the dog.

Edward didn’t bother answering. He threw Carlisle’s mail on the table, keeping a large envelope for himself. I caught sight of the logo.

“University of Alaska?” I asked sceptically.

“Bella’s choice,” Edward shrugged dismissively. “Although I am attempting to persuade her that Dartmouth might be a better choice.”

“Dude, she’s not going to any college next year,” Emmett said comfortably. “Why the fuck are you both so worked up about all these applications and bribes to get her a place? All Bella’s going to be doing next year is destroying shit. Newborn rampage all over the district, pillaging in the villages and fighting her for the good game…” Emmett’s eyes sparkled. “Damn, it’s going to be _so much fun!”_

The noises of outrage from Edward and I were practically synchronised. It might have been funny if the two of us weren’t so angry.

“Nothing has been decided yet,” Edward snapped. “Bella may still go to college. There’s time to convince her.”

“Must you make a joke out of _everything_?” I hissed, scowling at Emmett. “Newborns aren’t exactly fun and games you know! YOU weren’t. Impulsive, uncontrollable, ridiculous strength, needing to be baby sat all the time…ugh. Although I do sometimes wonder if anything has changed for you!”

Emmett chuckled, and Alice looked over at him with sudden interest. “Bella will be stronger than you, Emmett.”

He shook his head. “Nah, no way. That little thing? Not a chance.”

“She will be,” Alice insisted. “You’ll have to get used to losing Emmett, because Bella is going to be able to take you down.”

Emmett still didn’t look convinced.

“You’ve never seen a newborn, have you?” I asked him wryly. “Just ask Jasper though Emmett- you won’t know what’s hit you the first time you try to stop a newborn doing something they want to, even if that newborn is only Bella!”

“Will you all please STOP!” Edward sounded uncharacteristically angry, and I shrugged and turned away. I couldn’t help it if he was still not really reconciled to the idea of Bella’s vampire transformation. It was hardly my fault- I’d voted against it.

Jasper had paid little attention to the conversation, instead focussing on the news on television. I glanced at the screen and saw that it was another story about a potential serial killer in Seattle. Jasper was frowning at it thoughtfully, and then looked across at Edward who was also eyeing off the report.

“One of our kind?” Jasper asked.

Edward shrugged. “Carlisle thinks so. The more it goes on the more likely it seems.”

Jasper’s eyes narrowed. “It’s very messy if it is.”

“Yes,” Edward watched the end of the story silently. “I can see why Carlisle is concerned,” he said finally. “We should probably watch this one…I for one don’t want any more trouble than we’ve already had this year.”

 

Edward drove off to Bella’s house at the appointed visitation hours, ignoring Emmett’s laughter and the crude suggestions he shouted after him. Once he was gone Emmett became uncharacteristically quiet, sprawled out on the sofa with his hands behind his head as he contemplated the ceiling. I sat on the floor beside him doing Alice’s homework and listening to her talk.

“You should have gone to college again,” she said eventually. “I think you’ve done more of my homework this year than I have, which really indicates that you must be incredibly bored. And really Rosalie, since when did you care enough about _video games_ to go to such lengths to win a game? I know you’re a hopeless cheat, but I’m still surprised that you practically got naked in front of my husband!”

I snorted as I threw her history book back to her and opened her science book. “Your husband is the one that started everyone feeling all frisky. Talking about dirty cheaters and all…”

Alice giggled, and I grinned at her. “You’re right though, I am bored.” I sighed. “College might have been good, but I would have missed you all too much. I suppose now we’ll have to wait for Bella to get over the newborn stage before the family can settle down somewhere and we can go again.”

“Was I that bad as a newborn?” Emmett asked plaintively. Our earlier conversation was obviously bothering him. “I know I made a few mistakes…okay, a lot of mistakes! But was I really that much worse than anyone else?”

I turned to him and ran a hand through his curly hair, kissing him on the forehead. “You were beautiful, baby.” I shrugged. “Although in all fairness, I wasn’t around for any other newborn experiences except my own. You’d have to ask Carlisle.”

“Ask Carlisle what?” The front door closed, and a moment later Carlisle and Esme appeared in the doorway, their hands linked between them. They’d been out hunting and doing other things that they preferred to do in private, far away from their adopted children, and they were both smiling, their eyes light.

“We were talking about newborns,” Alice said cheerfully. “Emmett wanted to know if he was a dreadful infant vampire, but Jasper and I weren’t here then and Rosalie can only compare him to herself.”

Carlisle chuckled. “Well you certainly kept us on our toes, Emmett!”

Esme laughed. “Indeed you did, Emmett. How many times did we move that first year?” She looked at his pouting face and smiled softly. “But then…you were so happy about everything and accepted everything so easily. You changed our family for the better, and you’ve been worth every speck of trouble you ever caused.”

Emmett grinned. “Aww, thanks Mom.”

“There are different kinds of trouble anyway,” I said. “I never killed a human- not to eat- but I can’t say I had a very easy time controlling my impulsivity and temper back then.”

“Like you control them so beautifully now?” Alice teased.

I poked my tongue out at her. “I’m positively _mellow_ compared to the way I was as a newborn!” I glanced, half ashamed, at Carlisle. “With Emmett we had to move because he killed humans, but when I was a baby we had to move because I destroyed the house in a tantrum!”

Carlisle laughed at me gently. “You were all somewhat different as newborns,” he said, his eyes far away as he remembered. “Your reactions and the way you behaved…I haven’t thought about it in a long time. You were certainly tempestuous Rosalie! It was fascinating in a way, you were always so furious with us and losing your temper so spectacularly and yet you controlled your thirst almost from the first moment.”

“In other words…Rose was just like she is now,” Emmett chuckled, and I rolled my eyes at him and cuffed him playfully on the side of the head. “What about Edward and Esme?”

“Oh, I struggled a great deal,” Esme sighed. “Carlisle and Edward were so patient with me, but I found it so difficult.”

Carlisle slipped an arm around her waist and kissed her tenderly on the top of her head. “I was so proud of you though. You worked so hard.”

“That’s because it took such hard work!” Esme returned. She looked back at Emmett. “I made as many mistakes as you did Emmett, probably more. I was so ashamed of myself, but I was so happy to be with Carlisle that I was determined to make it all work.”

“What about Edward?” Emmett asked Carlisle. “What was he like when you changed him?”

“Edward was different again,” Carlisle said thoughtfully. “He controlled the thirst very well, but of course he was adjusting to the telepathy at the same time. It helped him I think, because he was hearing the person’s thoughts at the same time as he was being driven to feed on them and even in his newborn frenzy he wasn’t able to dehumanise them.” He looked across at Jasper. “I would imagine things were different with the newborns you were familiar with.”

“Yes,” Jasper said shortly. “I think being born to a family makes a very big difference.”

There was a moment of silent tension before Emmett said thoughtfully, “So…which way do you reckon Bella is going to go? How many mistakes is she going to make?”

I snorted. “Edward won’t let her make any. I don’t think his overprotectiveness is going to be lessened that much even if she is a bit less breakable.”

Jasper’s face relaxed and he raised his eyebrows at me. “I would bet she’ll make plenty of mistakes. Edward won’t be able to stop her.”

“Betting?” Emmett swung his feet down and sat upright on the sofa, facing Jasper. “I’ll take you on. I bet it won’t be many- we’ll all be around to stop her, and she’ll be more prepared than any of us were.”

“Is this really an appropriate subject for a wager?” Esme asked, the disapproval in her voice making her opinion clear.

The boys didn’t answer her. I shrugged my shoulders and Alice held out her hands helplessly. “You know what they’re like Esme, they insist on betting on everything!”

“I’ll bet she’ll take a few out,” Jasper said intently to Emmett. “She’s got a temper. And I don’t care how prepared she thinks she is, she’s going to feel that burn and nothing else will matter but satisfying her thirst.” It was a heartfelt comment. Jasper struggled more than anyone else with resisting the siren call of human blood, and I thought he was probably looking forward to having a newborn Bella around and not being the weakest link.

“Nah,” Emmett disagreed. “There’s too many of us to stop her now. And if Edward takes her to damn Alaska there’s no one to eat anyway.” He held out his hand and Jasper slapped his palm, sealing the deal as I shook my head. So typical of the boys!

I wondered though, as I finished Alice’s homework, which of the boys would win the bet. What would newborn Bella be like? How _would_ she handle the excruciating pain of transformation and the heady, overwhelming early vampire days? At least she would be prepared, I thought silently. At least she knows what she’s in for, and she’s making that choice herself.

_Not like I did._

There was no choice then, not for me, and no knowledge at all that could have prepared me for the horrors I had thrust upon me on that last terrible night. No knowledge at all of the shadow world I was going to wake up and find myself imprisoned in…


	2. Born into shadows.

It was so cold. The cobblestones beneath my head and back felt like ice and the chill from them moved inexorably through my body. I tried to move, to get away from frigid stones, but the pain tore through me again, sharp and blinding and brutal.

_I can’t move. I feel so broken. I’m going to die._

_I don’t care._

Time passed, measured only by throbs and spears of pain. I could smell the blood, my blood, as it dripped and splashed and trickled out of me, pooling on the cold stones. I pictured it making rivers and lakes, dark red on the hard and unforgiving ground.

_How much blood does one person have? I’m hurting so much…why is it taking so long to die?_

It was so dark. If I turned my head I could see the street lamp at the end of the alley, but the comforting glow was impossibly far away from where my broken body lay. I found myself thinking, idiotically, that ladies shouldn’t be out alone after dark and that Father and Mother would be so angry with me when they found out where I was. I should have called them, or accepted Vera’s offer to have her husband walk me home. Why didn’t I? I tried to call out, wanting someone, anyone, to hear me but my voice sounded like nothing more than a breath of wind in the darkness. No one had heard me when the men made me scream…no one was going to hear me now that they were gone.

_I’m sorry Mama. I should have listened. Why isn’t anyone coming? Mama… I don’t like the dark._

I heard footsteps coming towards me. There was a distressed exclamation of surprise and then someone was crouching beside me, speaking in gentle and reassuring tones. It was the fair haired young doctor from town. I felt his hands on me and I cringed as he touched the shattered and broken pieces of my body but there was too much pain for me to move away. I realised that his icy hands were touching bare flesh and I was naked, and I closed my eyes.

_Where are my clothes? I shouldn’t be naked here, no wonder I’m so cold._

_What are you doing, doctor? Go away. I don’t want you. Can’t you see I’m busy dying?_

“What have they done to you?” he murmured. “Rosalie, Rosalie…oh child, such brutality…”

I whimpered. I wanted to tell him to leave me alone, to let me die like I was trying to, but I couldn’t summon up the strength to speak. I felt so heavy and I was just so _tired_ …I could taste the blood on my tongue, and with each beat of my heart feel more of it flowing out of my body, the only warmth I could feel in that cold and icy place. The doctor covered me with his own coat, but it was no warmer than the stones I was lying on. With a whispered, heartfelt apology he lifted me into his arms and I would have screamed if I could, but the pain that engulfed my body was so intense that all I could do was let it swallow me whole. I thought that surely I was dying as the world shifted and whirled around me.

_We’re flying. Who would have thought a doctor could fly? The stars look so pretty up there in that dark night sky. I must be on my way to heaven._

_Please let me die now._

The room he took me to was bright, and I shut my eyes against the light stinging my eyes. It was just another pain to add to the agony that had invaded and conquered my body, claimed me for its own. At least in the room there was warmth, and I felt myself starting to drift. I let myself go, waiting for the darkness behind my eyelids to deepen, waiting for death. I knew that it would soon be over, and I wasn’t afraid. Not then.

_Ohhhhhh!_

Suddenly there was pain flaring up in my body again. Sharp, burning pain, different to the other as it bit into my neck and wrists and ankles. The agonising pain spread, and this time when I opened my mouth I did scream.

_Why, doctor? I was dying…why did you need to hurt me more? Wasn’t…that…in the alley enough?_

Pain. Burning like fire, like all the flames of hell, rippling and tearing and eating through my body as I screamed.

_Is this death? Have I been sent to hell? It wasn’t my fault, what they did…I’m sorry. I’m sorry I was such a bad girl. Please don’t leave me here._

“I’m sorry Rosalie, I know how much this hurts. Hold on my dear, hold on.” The doctor bathed me, washing away the dirt and the blood as I screamed and writhed with the burning that was laying waste to my body.

_Maybe this is to purify me? Maybe he’ll let me die and go to heaven when I’m clean again._

_Help me, someone. Anyone. Please._

I stopped screaming after a while. Screaming changed nothing.

 “Oh, the poor girl!”

I heard another voice, a strange voice this time. A female voice that brought to mind images of my mother, and even though she and I had never been very close I wanted her so desperately it seemed unbearable. The strange woman touched me like a mother would, smoothing my hair and holding my hands, but this time it felt like a thousand needles of molten metal piercing my skin and I screamed and screamed and screamed.

“How much longer?” she asked.

“Two more days.” The doctor sounded bleak.

“Are you sure you’ve done the right thing Carlisle?”

Her voice was so quiet I could barely hear it, and I waited for his answer so long that I thought I’d missed it, but finally the doctor spoke.

“No.”

_Doctor, why can’t you heal me? Why? What did I do wrong?_

The doctor kept talking to me. He held my hand and told me monstrous tales of vampires and drinking blood, and that was when I knew I was in hell.

He kept saying he was sorry.

_I’m sorry too. I want to go home._

“One more day.” The doctor’s voice sounded calm.

A third person joined the doctor and the woman. Another man, and even though my eyes were shut and I couldn’t see anything through the burning haze I knew he was watching me as I suffered. Just like the men in the alley watched as I suffered, I thought with a fresh wave of horror. At least this time no one was laughing.

_Why does it have to burn so much? It’s like a fiery demon with sharp teeth tearing me apart, roasting me down here in hell and…I can’t remember. My whole life has been agony, the men in the alley and now these fires of redemption._

_Oh, please let there be redemption._

“Rosalie Hale? What were you thinking, Carlisle?”

When I heard him say my name, the mysterious man, I listened and recognised the voice. It was the boy, the doctor’s brother in law. He sounded disgusted and I shuddered…why wouldn’t he be? He must have known what had happened to me, and I knew that even though it hadn’t been my fault at all I was the one who would pay the price for that shame in the alley.

 “I couldn’t just let her die.” The doctor’s voice was quiet. “It was too much- too horrible, too much waste.”

_You couldn’t just let me die? That suffering in the alley wasn’t enough? So you brought me here to hell so I could pay for what they did…_

“People die all the time. Don’t you think she’s just a little recognisable, though?” The boy kept talking. He sounded so angry, and I wanted to tell him not to speak of me like that. “What are we going to do with her?”

“That’s up to her, of course. She may want to go her own way.”

_No! No doctor, you can’t leave me own my own here in hell!_

He held my hand again, the doctor, held it while I twisted and shook with the fires ravaging my body. He kept saying sorry. Every time I screamed I could feel him wince, and he apologised again and again. He told me he couldn’t have left me to die like that, and I remembered how he had found me, bloodied and naked and shamed.

_That wasn’t me though- I am Rosalie Hale and I am beautiful and I am going to be a great lady. At least…I was, until they took me down onto the earth and made me into something else and I didn’t want to do what they did to me and oh god, why am I here in hell and what is going to happen to me now?_

_Why didn’t anyone come, doctor? Why didn’t anyone save me?_

_What is happening to me?_

Again he told me his tales of monsters and death, and a life that wasn’t really life, and I wanted to believe he was lying but his voice rang with the clarity of truth.

The one time he left me the woman came to sit with me. She brushed my hair with gentle hands and whispered to me about the doctor, Carlisle, and the boy she called Edward. She told me the same stories as the doctor. She used the word _vampire._

She used the word _kind._

 “It should be today,” the doctor said, taking my hand again. “You will start to feel better very soon Rosalie. Just wait for that…you’ve been very brave, and it’s nearly over.”

_Why didn’t I just die in the alley?_

Finally, the burning started to lessen. I could feel coolness on my hands and my feet, and then all the fires seemed to contract into one hard ball of burning pain that lodged in my throat.

_I’m so thirsty._

I opened my eyes.

The room was small but bright and cheerful, with floral patterned wallpaper and white furniture. I was lying on a wide, high bed in the centre of the room, and the three of them were standing motionless in the doorway, watching me. The doctor, his wife and the boy. I leapt from the bed and found myself pressed against the far wall from them.

_How can I have jumped so far? Aren’t I all broken?_

No, I wasn’t broken. Not on the outside. But I wasn’t quite myself, either. My skin…I touched my arm wonderingly, feeling it hard and cold and seeing the way it glimmered in the light falling through the window. I didn’t feel broken. I felt strong and whole and perfect, and I stared from my own hands to the doctor.

_The witch…he started the burning and kept me imprisoned here. What enchantments are these?_

“What have you done to me?” Even my voice sounded different, like the clear sweet chime of bells. “What have you done to me, doctor?”

The doctor stepped carefully into the room, holding his hands out towards me, never taking his eyes from mine. I was distracted for a moment by the perfection of his face and the way the light reflected off it…how was it I could be seeing so clearly? The boy stepped forward beside the doctor and regarded me calculatingly. The woman flanked the doctor on the other side, smiling at me encouragingly.

“Rosalie, my name is Carlisle Cullen. This is my wife Esme, and this is Edward. You are in our home, and you are quite safe now.”

“I want to go home,” I said, and then straightened my back and lifted my head high, demanding imperiously. “You’ve been keeping me here and I won’t have it. Take me home now!”

“I’m afraid that’s impossible,” the doctor- Carlisle- said soothingly. “You’ve been here three days now Rosalie and certain things have changed. Do you remember the things I told you?”

My mind flashed back to his tales of vampires and monsters and death that wasn’t death…preposterous.

“She remembers,” Edward said softly. “But she thinks you were lying. She thinks you took her to hell.”

I hissed at him, and then clamped my mouth shut, shocked at the vicious and predatory sound that had come from me. “Of course you were lying! Such fairy tales and horror stories belong in the nursery, and I’m not a child. I don’t know what you think you’re doing here but I want no part of it. You seem to know my name and know who I am, and I insist you take me home immediately!”

“Do you remember me finding you in the alley?” the doctor asked gently. “You had been very badly hurt Rosalie. You were dying…I did the only thing I could for you.”

My mind flashed back to the darkness of the alley way, the smell of whiskey and men and my own blood assaulting my senses, and I pressed back even harder against the wall, breathing hard.

“She remembers that too,” the boy, again. How was he doing that? I glared at him, and his strange golden eyes met mine. “I wouldn’t talk about that part of things with her Carlisle, not now…it’s making her even more agitated and she needs to understand.”

“I remember that. And I remember that you brought me here and tortured me even more…what kind of doctor are you?” I said accusingly.

“The things I spoke of to you are true,” the doctor said clearly. “They were not nursery tales Rosalie, but facts. There are vampires in the world and that is what Edward, Esme and I are. That is what you have become.”

“No!” I clenched my fists. “Stop it! I don’t want to hear your lies. I am Rosalie Hale and I want nothing to do with you! Now, _let me go.”_

 Edward frowned at me, and then spoke to Carlisle as if I were not right there in front of him. “She doesn’t want to believe anything.” He looked at me impatiently. “Go and look in the mirror Rosalie. Go on!”

I hesitated, torn between wanting to slap him for his impertinent way of speaking and wanting to look in the mirror and see what they had done to me. Because I knew things were different, but I could not bring myself to believe the doctor’s outrageous stories. I made my choice and slid along beside the wall, eyeing them suspiciously all the while, until I could see my reflection in the full length mirror in the far corner.

_Ooooohhhh._

There was no question that the reflection looking back at me _was_ me, but it was a version of me that was nothing less than breathtaking. The marks of beauty that had always been there, my hair and face and body, had been refined and sculpted to perfection. I had never seen anything as beautiful as my own reflection. But the blue eyes that had always looked out of the mirror at me with complacency now stared back at me glowing the ruby red of blood and that, more than anything else, convinced me of the truth of Carlisle’s words.

I screamed, this time in rage instead of pain, and whirled around. I heard Edward mutter, “Watch out…she’s going to throw things,” and an instant later I seized the pewter brush and comb from the dressing table and hurled it at the mirror which shattered instantly, thousands of shards of glittering glass exploding under the force. Barely aware of what I was doing I shoved the dresser itself, which flew across the room and smashed against the opposite wall.

Where had this strength come from? What was this nightmare I had found myself in? I grabbed the dressing table stool and the wood splintered into matchsticks under the force of my grip and I screamed again as I threw it straight at the doctor.

“Why? Why did you do this to me?” I raged. Furniture smashed and shattered and crumbled under the force of my fury, feathers from the destroyed pillows swirling and floating through the chaos. The doctor, his wife and the boy merely stood and watched me, dodging the missiles I sent their way, not answering my shrieked abuse, waiting until there was nothing in the room left whole and intact and I finally stopped in the centre of the destruction and spoke to them quietly.

 “Why?”

Carlisle’s face was sad. “There was no other choice. You could not have survived that assault any other way.”

You could have just let me die, I thought silently. Aloud I said, “What now?”

“Are you thirsty?” The woman’s voice was gentle.

I became aware once again of the burning in my throat. “Yes.”

“I explained this to you, during your change,” Carlisle said. “That although we are vampires my family and I have made a conscious choice to avoid ending human lives and we survive by drinking the blood of animals.”

At the thought of blood my nose wrinkled, but the burn in my throat intensified and my mouth was flooded with an unfamiliar sensation.

“It’s the venom,” Edward said, watching me carefully. “You don’t like the idea, but your body knows what it wants now.”

I didn’t stop to wonder how he seemed to always know what I thinking. Now that they had brought my attention to it I could feel nothing but the searing burn of my thirst and I licked my lips and rocked anxiously onto my tip toes. I twitched as my nose, almost of its own volition, began searching the air for a scent that I didn’t even know if I would recognise.

“She’s very thirsty,” Edward told Carlisle and Esme. “We should go now. If she smells a human she won’t be able to stop.”

“Go where?” I demanded. “I’m so thirsty…I want a drink.”

“We know Rosalie,” Esme said gently, approaching me warily. “Come with us now. We’ll find you something.”

I considered her for a moment, and then followed her somewhat unwillingly. I didn’t know what I thought of this small, pretty woman yet, but I knew I did not trust the doctor who had done this to me and I did not like the boy who watched me with such knowing eyes. She seemed the safest option, but when she led me outside I wondered suspiciously what was going to happen.

It was twilight, and the small house I had been held captive in was surrounded by wild forest. With my newly sharpened sense I could see perfectly even in the dim twilight, and my ears and nose were suddenly flooded with a thousand different sounds and smells. But nothing could keep my attention as the urgency of the thirst burned my throat, and I shook my head frantically and whimpered.

Carlisle and Edward vanished into the forest, and I paced, clenching my fists and scenting the air around me. “What are they doing?” I demanded of Esme, who was watching me carefully. “Why won’t you give me something to drink? I’m thirsty!”

“Carlisle and Edward will find you something,” she said soothingly. “It will be fine Rosalie…you’ll learn to hunt your own food in time but Carlisle thinks this first time should be easy, and he will bring you something.”

I shook my head and turned away. Bring me something? An animal, so I could drink its blood? This whole night felt like a dream, a nightmare that I wished I could wake up from. I couldn’t drink the blood of an animal, surely not… But I heard Carlisle call out and the sounds he and Edward made as they ran towards us, and below that I heard a heartbeat and smelled the blood and I found myself unconsciously moving towards them.

Carlisle held a deer in his hand, a big buck that dangled limply. Its eyes blinked frantically and its heart beat fast but it didn’t move as Carlisle knelt on the grass and laid it out before him, beckoning me closer.

“I broke his back,” he told me, touching a spot on the bony ridge of its spine. “Right here, so he can’t move. You won’t have to do that when you hunt for yourself but it makes it easier this first time. It’s all right Rosalie, you can come closer...it’s yours.”

I shook my head, but despite my revulsion I found myself dropping to my knees beside Carlisle. My throat burned and the venom flowed as I heard the rapid heartrate and I whimpered as I smelled the blood, but the very idea of what I wanted to do so desperately revolted me.

“She’s still thinking like a human,” Edward stood beside Esme, watching me, two smaller deer slung over his shoulder. “It’s almost interesting really, her new instincts at war with what she thinks…”

“Never mind, Edward,” Carlisle murmured. “We have time Rosalie, lots of time to make this change.” He glanced across at Edward and Esme. “It’s rather a surprising amount of control actually.” He looked back at me, and I whimpered again as my instincts fought with my rational mind and my hands twitched at the unmoving animal laid out like a sacrifice before me.

“I know you want it Rosalie,” Carlisle said gently. “I understand that it feels strange to you, but it’s what you need right now. Your body, your _vampire_ body, knows how to do this if you let it.”

His words soothed the frantic, fluttering thoughts in my mind, and I bent forward over the deer, inhaling the scent of it. Yes…he was right. I had no knowledge of animals or anatomy, but without thinking of it I found the place where the large artery pulsed close to the skin of the beast. Then my teeth tore into the deer and my mouth was flooded with the thick warm blood and I gulped it down desperately, feeling the arid desert of my burning throat soothed by it.

“Good girl,” Carlisle shifted his position next to me and I snarled and pulled the body I was draining closer to me. “It’s all yours Rosalie,” he said, sounding slightly amused. “Drink it all…you’ll feel better.”

All too soon the heartbeat of the animal under my mouth faltered and stuttered and then stopped. I threw the empty carcass aside and looked up at Carlisle with a feral grimace. “I want more.”

Edward slung another deer at me, and without hesitation I caught it and plunged my teeth into the neck, sucking at it thirstily. This one tasted subtly different, and my eyes registered that it was a doe.  

As the heartbeat slowed and then stopped, I dropped the doe to the ground in front of me and sat back on my heels, glaring balefully at the three vampires regarding me. I felt full, but almost immediately the flames of the burning thirst began licking at my throat again. “It still burns,” I said accusingly.

“Yes, I’m afraid so,” Carlisle was closest to me. “That will ease with time, although it is something you’ll have to get used to. It will be worse when you are around humans, or when you’re exceptionally thirsty.”

I considered his words, caught on the idea of being around humans. “When can I go home?” I demanded. “When will you take me to see my parents?”

Carlisle, Esme and Edward exchanged glances, but it was Carlisle who answered. “That won’t be possible Rosalie. You’re a vampire now, and you must accept that your life will be different from now on. I’m afraid there is no going back.”

“But I didn’t want this!” Unconsciously I took hold of the buck’s antlers and squeezed them. “I don’t want my life to be any different!” Before I could say anything else the antlers shattered in my hand and I made an exclamation of disgust and tossed the shards onto the grass, inspecting my hands for damage.

“There’s no damage,” Edward remarked to me. “There’s very little on this earth that can injure you now Rosalie.”

I looked up at him sharply, and he looked at me thoughtfully for a minute and then went on. “You can feel how strong you are. You crushed those antlers without effort. You can feel the strength and power your body has now…imagine yourself running Rosalie, or jumping or climbing. Your bones can’t be broken and there is nothing short of vampire teeth that can penetrate your skin.”

Once again my mind flashed back to the brutality of the men in the alley and my helplessness in the face of their strength; bones that broke and flesh that tore and bled… “No one can hurt me? I’m stronger than… _they_ were?”

Edward’s face darkened. “Much, much stronger than they were.”

I rose to my feet, feeling the strength that ran through my body, and flipped my hair back over my shoulder. I wiped my hand across my mouth, grimacing in disgust as I saw the smear of blood. 

“We need to bury these carcasses,” Carlisle said calmly, with a brief glance at Edward. “There are a number of reasons for that Rosalie, but it is primarily because secrecy must always, _always_ , be our first priority. As a vampire you must never do anything that would betray your true nature to humans, and always dispose of any evidence that shows you are other than the human you will pretend to be.”

I looked at him incredulously. “I’m not digging around in the dirt!” I brushed angrily at the grass on the hem of my dress and then straightened up defiantly. “I don’t care what you say. I’m going home.” I spun around and headed towards the front of the house. I didn’t know where we were, but I guessed that if I could find a road I might be able to make my way home.

I heard a rapidly spoken conversation behind me, but I paid them no mind and hastened my steps into a run. Then the truth of Edward’s words hit me because the speed at which I could now move felt as much like flying as running, and for a moment I thought of nothing but the sheer physical pleasure of movement and I laughed aloud.

A hand caught at my arm and with an instinctive, feral snarl I pulled myself free and hit back, hard, deliberately using my new strength. “Don’t touch me!”

It was Carlisle, and he stumbled backwards as I struck him, but didn’t stop running beside me. “Rosalie!” he called, “You must stop! You don’t understand what you are now. This is _dangerous!_ ”

I didn’t bother to answer, but increased my speed as I came upon a road at the end of the house’s long driveway. I heard Carlisle call to Edward to follow me. It was a struggle to keep focussed on where I was going as I was overcome with sensory input more acute than anything I’d even imagined. Even in the dark I could see with razor sharp clarity, my ears picked up every sound from animal and insect and my nose smelled every scent that crossed it on the breeze. I could identify individual trees, and smell the river miles away, the animals on the farms that I was passing by, the scent left from a motor car that had driven along this road hours ago, and _oh my god, want that, want that, WANT THAT!_

All thought and reason left my head as the most delicious aroma reached my nose, and I blindly swerved from the road and followed it, the burn in my throat reaching new heights as the venom flooded my mouth. This scent, if I could only find it, _this_ was what my parched throat wanted, this was what I _needed…_

Behind me I heard Edward shouting for Carlisle and Esme. “She’s scented the people at the farm! Head her off!” He managed to come up alongside me and without registering the words I noted that he was talking to me. I couldn’t pay attention though, not with that hypnotising smell tantalising me, growing closer with every step I took.

Suddenly Carlisle and Esme appeared in front of me. Edward came up from behind and between the three of them they caught me in their arms and stopped my flight. I screamed in fury and struggled to get away and go after that scent that I wanted so desperately, and somehow in the struggle we fell. I heard Esme’s soft voice saying my name and felt her hands clasping mine, but Carlisle had a knee in my back and Edward’s hands were pinning my arms to the ground and I felt a wave of terror wash over me. _No no no no, not again, no no no…you can’t hurt me again, I’ll kill you first before you touch me…_

“Carlisle, no! Get off her!” The touch of Edward’s hands disappeared, and his voice sounded rough and anxious. “She won’t run now, but she’s remembering what they did to her…if you touch her she’ll tear you apart thinking you’re them!”

The weight and hands on me vanished and I rocketed to my feet and away from them, stopping only when my back hit the broad trunk of a tree. _“Don’t you ever touch me again!”_

Carlisle stood at a distance holding his hands up, palms towards me so I could see them, Esme and Edward flanking him. “It’s all right Rosalie,” he said soothingly. “We won’t touch you. No one will hurt you again, it’s all right.”

I was breathing hard. The delicious scent was still there, stronger than it had been back at the road and my desire to run towards it fought against my terror of trying to get past the three vampires in my path and having them use force against me once more. My eyes moved rapidly from one face to the next, and I clutched my head in my hands and moaned in distress.

Carlisle glanced at Edward, who shook his head as though in response to a question. “She’s fighting it, but mostly because she’s afraid of us,” Edward murmured. “We need to make her understand Carlisle, because it would be a mistake to use any physical restraint with her again. She remembers too much of her human end.”

Carlisle’s face was sad as he approached me slowly, holding his hands out in front of him where I could clearly see them. “I’m not going to touch you Rosalie,” he said quietly. “I want to help you.”

I hissed at him and he stopped immediately. I yanked my hands out of my hair and gripped the tree behind me, my fingers digging into the wood with ease as I tried to hold myself steady.

“What you can smell is human blood,” Carlisle told me. “Feel how strongly you’re drawn towards it…this is why you cannot go home Rosalie. Not now. It is possible to resist it- as you’re doing now- but as a newborn any control you have is tenuous and you need to be careful not to ask too much of yourself. If you were to be near to your family it is likely you would hurt them.”

“You don’t have to breathe,” Esme offered, moving forward to stand beside Carlisle. “Your body is breathing from habit and it’s part of the human façade we maintain, but it’s not necessary. If you don’t breathe you will not smell it so acutely.”

I consciously forced myself to stop breathing. It was an odd sensation, not exactly pleasant but not uncomfortable, and immediately the scent was lessened and there was an infinitesimal cooling in my burning throat. I could feel my head clearing and I relaxed my hands and then smoothed them through my hair.

“Come back with us now,” Carlisle said. “Let us explain more to you. Explain the rules, teach you what you need to know, and then you can decide what you wish to do from there. We will be more than happy to have you make your home with us, but we have no intention of keeping you against your will.”

Edward caught Carlisle’s eye and nodded. “She’ll follow us home,” he murmured.

I scowled at him. How did he know what I would do? Why did he look at me like that, as though he knew me intimately? Maybe they were all witches.

“I’m a telepath,” Edward said abruptly. His golden eyes met mine. “I can read your mind.”

I glared. Surely he lied…was it not bad enough what they’d done to me already? To now tell me that everything I thought was open for him to inspect? This, this… _child?_

A ghost of a smile drifted across Edward’s face. “I’m not a child. I’m older than you are; I was born in 1901.” He walked past me and I backed away until I could keep all three of them in my sight, not trusting any of them an inch. “Come on,” Edward paused to look over his shoulder. “Let’s go back.”

We moved swiftly through the forest and back to the Cullen’s home. It was a quicker trip than my run along the road had been, but I was still surprised when the house came in view and I felt not the least bit tired.

“You don’t get tired anymore,” Edward turned to look at me. “You don’t sleep either.”

“Do you answer everyone straight out of their head like that?” I looked at him with dislike. “It’s extremely rude.”

Edward looked offended, “Excuse me. I was merely attempting to be helpful.”

“Well, don’t,” I snapped. “A person has the right to privacy in her own _head_ at least, even if it seems she has no other rights _at all_.” 

The two deer I’d drunk from were lying dead on the grass but I could hear the pounding, terrified heartbeat of the third and once again I felt the inescapable thirst intensify. I wanted nothing more than to rip into the animal’s neck and feast, but the idea of doing something so primal and base in front of anyone, even the Cullens, was abhorrent.

“Oh, go and take it if you want it,” Edward said wearily. “You’ll be putting the poor thing out of its misery. And I know you don’t want me to listen to your thoughts, but I can’t help it when you’re practically screaming them at me.”

“Edward,” Carlisle said in gentle reprimand. “Please try and be patient.” He glanced at where I stood by the deer now. “Go on Rosalie. The more you feed the easier things will be for you, and Edward is right that the animal is suffering.”

“She doesn’t want us to watch her,” Edward contributed, turning towards the house. I was furious at his refusal to respect my thoughts as private, but at least in this instance I had to concede that it was useful as at his words Esme and Carlisle both hesitated and then turned towards the house.

“We’ll be inside,” Carlisle told me. “Please come and join us when you’re ready.”

Once they were gone I fed from the deer, but since I was not as thirsty as the first time I was torn between gulping greedily at the spurting blood, and then being revolted by what I was doing, grimacing, and then having the blood spray across the front of me. The doe lasted only minutes, but there was quite the mess once it was done.

Furiously I threw the body at the other ones and stormed into the house, flinging the door open with such force that it snapped off its hinges and shattered the wall behind it. Esme winced.

“This is disgusting!” I raged. “Just look at me! Look at this mess! I hate you for doing this to me!”

“We can find you some clean clothes,” Carlisle said quietly. He was seated on a velvet loveseat beside Esme, and she smiled at me anxiously and rose to her feet.

“Of course we can! We’ll clean it up Rosalie, don’t fret.”

I clenched my fists and snorted with anger. “It’s horrible! I don’t want to be this thing that you’ve made me!”

“Come on Rosalie, let’s go and get you some fresh clothes and then we can all talk,” Esme hurried up the stairs and I followed unwillingly.

She led me to a different bedroom to the one I had woken in, and I went straight to the washbasin and scrubbed my face clean of gore. “Ugh, there’s blood in my _hair_ ,” I exclaimed in revulsion. With a shudder I tore off the blood soaked dress I had been wearing, not caring that it ripped as I did so, and then dipped the sticky, bloodied ends of my long fair hair in the water and scrubbed at it. “This is so _vile_ ,” I hissed.

“It won’t always be so messy,” Esme tried to be comforting. “You’ll learn to…”

“ _I don’t want to learn!”_ I flung my head back and drips of blood tinged water flew off the ends of my hair and spattered against the walls. “ _I hate this!”_

Esme looked at me helplessly, a dress and underclothes held loosely in her hands. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “Carlisle will discuss this with you, but there is no going back from this Rosalie, and you must accept it.” She placed the clothes on the bed and went to the door. “I’ll leave you to change. We bought you some clothes while you were…transitioning. As soon as possible we’ll go shopping and you can select things to your own taste, but they’ll do for now.”

Alone, I stripped off the unfamiliar underwear and paused for a moment, caught by the reflection of my own nudity in the full length mirror. Oh, I was beautiful! I wondered what deal with the devil Carlisle must have struck to have been given this vampire life and the preternatural beauty it carried with it.

Still admiring myself, I combed out the wet ends of my hair. I did not usually wear my hair long and unstyled like that, but it looked well enough so I left it alone and dressed in the clothes Esme had laid out for me. They were pretty and fit well, and I could tell by the cut and fabric that they were expensive, so I had no room to complain about them but for the fact that they were not _mine_. I felt a fierce longing for my own clothes, and the silver backed dressing table set that had been my grandmother’s and my own pretty pink bedroom.

I took a deep breath and walked gracefully down the stairs, reminding myself to behave like a lady. Carlisle and Edward rose to their feet as I entered the living area and I nodded at them and sat down in the armchair Carlisle indicated. He seated himself beside Esme on the loveseat and Edward sat in the armchair opposite me. For a moment there was silence as we all contemplated each other, and then Carlisle leaned towards me.

“Rosalie, I want to express how sorry I am that this has happened. Believe me when I say I would not have changed you if there was any other choice. Transformation is not something I undertake lightly. You, Edward and Esme were all dying when I made that choice for you, and in more than two hundred and fifty years you three are the only people that I have saved by changing.” His voice rang with sincerity.

“Two hundred and fifty years?” I gasped. “You’re older than that?”

Carlisle nodded. “Yes. I became…what I am…approximately two hundred and seventy years ago. Edward has been with me since 1918, and Esme since 1926. As a vampire you do not age, so what you are when you are changed is what you will remain.”

Absently I brushed my hair behind my ear. To be always like this, young and strong and beautiful? To never age, to never have to lose my figure or my golden hair or my beautiful face? Beneath everything else I felt a stab of relief, but when I heard a half mocking chuckle from Edward the rage flooded back. “Don’t you dare _laugh_ at me!” I was infuriated that this child appeared to have no respect for me or my feelings!

Carlisle looked briefly impatient before his face smoothed back into a mask of serenity. “Please listen. As I’ve said to you, the most important rule you need to remember is secrecy Rosalie. Esme, Edward and I have made the choice to preserve human life and we maintain the façade that allows us to take part in the human world. I am a doctor, and Edward is attending college. You may make that choice too, and we would be delighted to have you as part of our family if that is what you wish.” He was eyeing me carefully. “You may prefer to make your own way in the world. Even then secrecy must always be at the forefront of your mind. We can help you with money if you need it, or you may prefer to become a nomad like some others of our kind, travelling and avoiding the human world.”

I couldn’t think of anything worse. Me, Rosalie Hale, live like some travelling vagabond? I stared at Carlisle in horror, and beside me Edward shook his head at him and Carlisle smiled at me.

“As I said, we’ll be happy to have you with us, although I must warn you that our particular lifestyle can be difficult. You’ve felt the thirst when you scented human blood, and that was at some distance. You did very well though Rosalie, to resist as you did and leave that hunt, so I’m very confident you’ll be able to manage.”

I caught Edward’s sceptical eyebrow raise at Carlisle and I clenched my fists in my lap. That awful boy! I’ll show him, I vowed. I’ll show them all…I won’t accept their pity. I noticed Edward turning his face away to hide a smile and, using language I would never have let past my lips, mentally shouted at him to get out of my head. His shoulders hunched with a sudden laugh, and across the room Carlisle and Esme frowned at him.

“We will teach you to hunt, and how to blend in to the human world. It’s not all bad Rosalie. As Edward told you, you will never feel tired, have no need to sleep, no bodily functions to take care of apart from feeding. You will never get sick, or be hurt, or feel cold or pain. You’re very beautiful, and your memory and senses are now unparalleled in the human world. You’re not invincible, but it takes a great deal to destroy a vampire,” Carlisle said quietly. “Dismemberment and fire, precisely, but it’s not something that happens often.”

I frowned. The beauty part, and the strength that meant I would never again be at the mercy of a human man…that sounded appealing. But the rest of it? I thought again of the animals I had fed on and shuddered at the thought of having to hunt them down.

“What do you _do?_ ” I said at last. “If you don’t sleep, there must be so much _time…_ ” I had never been a person content with solitude. I craved the kind of stimulus that came from being around people, from admiration and flirtation and laughter and fun.

“I work,” Carlisle told me. “Edward attends school or college…that will be an option for you later on, when you are comfortable that you can control yourself around humans. Esme spends time gardening and renovating our homes, sewing and reading. We all read, and have a very extensive library that is of course at your disposal now. Edward plays the piano. What did you do with your spare time before?”

“I talked to people,” I said flatly. “Visited friends. Went shopping and went to parties and to afternoon teas. I was preparing for my _wedding…”_ I felt a wave of horror at the thought of my fiancée as I once again realised what he had done to me, and I bit my lip hard. “I was about to get everything I wanted. Marriage, and babies and wealth and now…I don’t suppose you’ll allow any of that.”

Carlisle hesitated. “I’m afraid it’s not quite that simple.”

I stood up and paced, my agitation increasing as I gained a clearer understanding of my current position. “So you’ve made me into this… _thing_ , this monster! Not only that, I can’t do anything I like to do, I can’t have anything from my old life, I can’t…” my voice trailed off as I felt a crushing sense of loss. “I’ve lost everything. You’ve taken _everything_ from me... _you should have let me die_.”

Torn between a blind fury that made me want to hit out at everything in sight and a bone deep, soul destroying grief I flung myself out of the room, out of the house, desperate to get away from them. Only when I was outside, the deep night surrounding me and the three bodies of the deer in a limp, bloodless heap on the lawn in front of me, I realised that I had nowhere to go and I was truly trapped here. Caught here with these monsters who had taken everything I cared about, and given me only the beautifully grotesque life of a vampire in return. In pure heartbroken rage I screamed once, and then clapped my hands across my mouth to make it stop and then sank to the floor of the porch, huddling into myself and wishing I could die.

I became aware, some time later, of a murmured conversation between Carlisle and Esme in the living room behind me. Their voices carried clearly in to the yard where I still sat motionless in the brightening dawn light. I don’t know if it occurred to them that I could hear them- I could only suppose that living with Edward who knew every thought, spoken or not, had made them forget about things like eavesdroppers.

“She will settle down Carlisle, I’m sure she will,” Esme said comfortingly. “You did the only thing you could for her in the circumstances.”

“I could have let her die,” the doctor said quietly. “Edward was right when he said that people die all the time and I let them go. Why not this time?” He paused. “If only there had been more time to think! But it was a desperate situation Esme…and you saw what they did to her. How could I see someone so young and beautiful die like that?”

“You couldn’t, of course you couldn’t! Rosalie will accept her new life and find a way of living that she finds enjoyable.”

“It’s put us all into a difficult situation though,” Carlisle went on. “You know of her family Esme, and the family she was marrying in to, and her disappearance has caused a furore. They have the police force and half the country out hunting for any sign of her. Even that swine she was supposed to marry is playing the part of the heartbroken fiancé. I don’t believe my pacifist principles have ever been as sorely tested as they were when I saw the brute talking with the police as though he cared for her, when I know the atrocities he inflicted upon the poor child!”

“I’m sure there’s no evidence that you were in any way involved,” Esme said.

“No, there wouldn’t be. I’m not expecting any police knocks on the door! My concern is more that she is so recognisable. She was pretty enough as a human to attract attention…just imagine the human reaction to her now! We’ve always done our best to blend in and avoid notice but I don’t know how possible that will be for Rosalie. I doubt there’s a human male in the country who isn’t going to look at her,” Carlisle sounded a little despondent. “There’s no question about taking her out anywhere in this area as she’s bound to be recognised locally. I know we’d planned on staying here longer, but I think our only option is to move on as soon as possible. Teach her to hunt here, make sure she really understands what she is and the way we live, and then move on somewhere else for a new start for all of us.”

“If that’s the best thing to do, then we’ll do it,” Esme sounded determined. “We can make it work, Carlisle. We’ll be a family, you and I and Edward and Rosalie. I think it will be lovely to have another female around, and it will be good for Edward to have the companionship of someone closer to his age.”

“Please don’t get your hopes up on that point,” Edward’s voice was cutting as he entered the room behind me. “This was definitely not what I needed…and you should know that she’s sitting out on the porch listening to every word you’ve been saying.”

 _Tattletale!_ I thought nastily, and there was a flurry of movement as the three of them appeared on the porch beside me.

“We need to dispose of those deer before the sun is fully risen,” Carlisle glanced down at me and I stuck my lower lip out stubbornly. I didn’t care what he said, I was _not_ grubbing around in the dirt burying anything. Carlisle paused.

“I’ll do it,” Edward sighed. “That will be easier than arguing this one out now.” He jumped from the porch and landed beside the deer, picking them up and heading off into the forest.

Esme sat beside me, but when Carlisle went to do the same I instinctively flinched away from him and he stopped, standing casually on the grass as though it was what he had intended to do all along.

“It’s just as well that you heard our discussion,” Carlisle said lightly. “We had no intention of hiding anything from you as it happens; decisions affecting the family are always discussed together. I suppose we’re also used to Edward, who doesn’t really need to be told things directly! We were just uncertain as to whether you were ready to discuss the future at this point.”

I wrapped my arms around my legs and rested my chin on my knees. “What future?” I said bitterly. “Killing things?”

Esme winced and Carlisle touched her lightly on the shoulder. “Everyone has to eat,” he said mildly. “We try to be responsible about our hunting by burying the remains, feeding upon wild animals rather than any farmer’s stock, doing what we can to not impact the local ecosystem in a negative way. Esme keeps abreast of news of rare and endangered species and we will generally avoid those.”

I snorted. “You’re vampires with ethics?”

Edward appeared silently beside Carlisle, brushing dirt off his hands and smiling with amusement. “We refer to ourselves as vegetarians. A little joke.”

“Hilarious,” I muttered sourly.

“Esme and I were discussing our future plans,” Carlisle said. “Rosalie, you are perhaps a little too conspicuous to risk appearing anywhere public. You do understand that no one from your old life can see you as you are now? To them it must be as though you had died. I cannot stress to you enough how important secrecy is, not only for us, but because of what would happen to any human who discovers too much about us.”

I tossed my hair back. “I hate this! But yes…I understand.”

“Your family and…” Carlisle hesitated before he went on. “Your family are searching the state for you. Because of your youth, because of your connections, because of the mystery surrounding your disappearance, this affair has garnered a great deal of public attention. It is important that you are not seen, not even a distant glimpse of you. I think for a time we should stay here while you adjust; this house was chosen for its isolation and we’ll be quite safe here. We can teach you to hunt during darkness, and use the days to teach you how to harness your new vampire abilities and behaviours to pass as human while we consider where we we’ll settle next.”

I considered his words, and the words he hadn’t said. _Your family and…_ And the man who had taken my life, I finished silently. The man I had been so foolish and naively in love with, the man who had hidden his monster so deep inside that no one knew what he was really like…

“Don’t think of him,” Edward said quietly, his jaw tense. “He won’t get away with it.” He glanced across at Carlisle. “We’ll think of something.”

“No!” My eyes met his, fierce and demanding as my rage channelled itself into a hot desire for nothing short of brutal revenge. “None of you are to do anything! He will pay -oh yes, he’ll pay!- but I want to be the one to deal out justice for this.” I turned away from them and stared at the forest, dropping my voice to a whisper. “You’ve taken everything from me…at least leave me this. At least let me choose how it ends.”

I said no more, but as my mind filled with bitter, dark images of brutality I knew that I had already made up my mind. They would all pay, the men who had done this to me, they would pay with their lives for all that had been stolen from me and I wouldn’t be satisfied until every last one of them had felt the pain and horror and fear that they had inflicted on me with such mocking, heartless ease.


	3. Marked as mine

I stripped off my overalls and stretched, admiring my work as I dressed myself in my normal clothes. Emmett’s replacement Jeep was looking brand new again, despite the hammering we’d given it the previous week. I gave it a fond pat on one of the massive tires and slipped back inside the house, throwing my dirty overalls into the washing machine and scrubbing my hands in the laundry room.

In the living room Emmett and Jasper were arguing over a game of Warhammer. I rolled my eyes and gave the table a wide berth- that was most definitely _not_ a fight I was willing to take any part in!

Esme was playing softly on Edward’s piano, and I went and sat beside her on the piano bench. Esme and I both played, but neither one of us enjoyed playing when Edward was nearby since his virtuoso skills put our more amateur efforts to shame. With Edward spending so much time at the Swan’s house though, Esme had taken to playing more often and her music was sounding lovely.

 She was interrupted by the sound of a cell phone, and answered it with a puzzled frown. “Alice?”

The boys paused in their squabbling and listened.

“No, he’s due home this evening…I can call him, he may be able to get home earlier…oh, I see. Does Edward know?....Yes, of course…We’ll talk about it when you get home…Okay, bye bye sweetie.”

As she hung up, the three of us pounced. “That was Alice? What did she want? What did she see?” Phone calls from school were definitely out of the ordinary.

Esme frowned in concern. “It was Alice. She saw something, and she called to ask that Carlisle be here after school so we can talk about it.”

“Saw what?” Jasper left the table and moved swiftly towards her. “Is she safe?”

 Esme held out a hand. “Yes Jasper, she’s safe. I know that much. It’s something to do with Bella.”

“Bella _again_?” I said in disbelief. How much trouble was that one insignificant little human going to cause our family?

Emmett laid a hand on my shoulder. “Go easy, baby doll. Might not be anything.”

I stared hard as Esme. “Sure. Might be nothing.” But I knew that Alice wouldn’t be calling from school to ask Carlisle to come home if it weren’t something important, and I clenched my jaw to bite back the angry words.

Emmett and Jasper abandoned their game of Warhammer after that. Jasper flipped on the television and moodily watched a newsfeed and Emmett dragged me outside and made me go for a run with him in an attempt to distract me. It wasn’t very successful, and by the time Alice was due back from school he and I were back in the living room, on the sofa beside Jasper and waiting impatiently. Carlisle returned from the hospital, still wearing his lab coat, and sat talking quietly with Esme on the other sofa.

Jasper heard her first, and met Alice at the door, taking her into his arms. For a silent moment they gazed into each others eyes, and then Alice smiled and kissed him lightly. Clasping his hand she hurried over to the rest of us.

“There’s going to be trouble,” she said directly. “She’s coming back…Victoria.”

Emmett cursed, but then grinned. “At least the bitch is giving us another chance to take her out.”

I looked at him with a scowl, and he smiled and shrugged. “Come on baby doll, don’t look at me like that. There are seven of us and one of her…where’s the danger in that?” He and Jasper slapped palms and I looked irritably back at Alice.

“She’s coming back for Bella,” Alice clarified. “I can see her coming through the woods, at night.” Her eyes flicked rapidly through the visions she was searching out in her head, and then she suddenly smiled.

“Oh, that’s perfect.” Her shoulders relaxed and she looked across at Carlisle and Esme. “Remember the plane tickets you gave Bella for her birthday? She’s never used them, so Edward has convinced her that they should fly down to Florida this weekend to visit her mother.”

“So she and Edward will be out of danger when Victoria comes for her,” Carlisle said slowly. “That’s good. The rest of us can take care of the issue, and perhaps then it will be over.”

I looked sharply at Alice. “Edward didn’t tell her, did he? Bella doesn’t know why they’re going to Florida?”

“Does it matter?” she said practically. “You know how Bella is…much easier just to have her safely out of the way.”

“I don’t like secrets,” I said flatly. “I won’t say anything to her…oh, I learned my lesson about that, thank you very much! I haven’t forgotten what happened last time I opened my mouth because I believe in openness! But I do hate all this lying. And I am getting very tired of everyone being thrown into dangerous situations because of Bella Swan!” I folded my arms and sat back with a toss of my hair.

“It won’t be dangerous,” Emmett wrapped his hand around mine and ducked his head to peer into my eyes. “Truly Rose, look at the odds…heck, it’s hardly going to be a fight at all. She’ll come into the woods, Alice will tell us where she’s going to be, and we’ll take her down. Nothing easier.” He glanced across at Alice for confirmation.

Alice nodded her head, but there was a shadow over her face. “No one is going to get hurt,” she said quietly. “Although,” she hesitated for a long time, “I don’t actually see us killing her either. There are blind spots…”

“We can do it,” Jasper sounded very matter of fact. “Emmett is correct about the odds; and if we kill her now, then it will all be over at last.”

I thought back to the night I had followed the red haired vampire through the forests as she searched Forks for a way to Bella Swan. “She’s very fast,” I said, half unwillingly. “Maybe faster than Edward, so we’ll have to keep that in mind.”

“We’ll have the advantage of knowing the area,” Jasper said thoughtfully. “Alice, how closely can you pinpoint where she’ll be?”

Carlisle disappeared to his study, returning before Alice could even answer with one of the detailed maps of the area he kept held in his hands. Emmett swept the Warhammer detritus back into the box and then leaned over the table as Carlisle spread out the map.

Alice frowned at it. “I’m not that specific! As I said, there are blind spots…big ones. I know she’ll be here this weekend, but I can’t see…” she wrung her hands, and I glanced at her sharply, wondering why she was so anxious. Much as I hated the idea of any fighting or risk, I had to admit that Emmett had a point about the odds. Even with Edward far away in Florida there were still six of us against Victoria, and that had to put it at close to a sure thing…didn’t it?

“That’s fine Alice,” Carlisle murmured. “We’ll find her.” He glanced around at everyone as his fingers rapidly traced across the map. “We must remember the Quileute boundary lines though. I dislike the idea of fighting, but it seems that this vampire will never abandon her quest for revenge, and as the ones who introduced Bella to this world and allowed her to be caught up in the dangers it is up to us to protect her.”

By Saturday night I was keyed up, but not overly anxious. We had spent Friday night scouting the forests with no result, but Alice’s vision remained unchanged so it seemed obvious that tonight was going to be the night.

Emmett came whistling into our bedroom, where I was braiding my hair. Coming to stand behind me he gently took the strands of hair from my hands and wove them together to finish the long braid for me, tying the end with an elastic band and then using it to tip my face towards him.

“Love you Rosa girl,” he murmured, stroking my cheek. His eyes dipped down to my jacket and tight jeans, and his mouth curved up in a smile. “You are looking mighty badass baby doll, and you know how hot I think that is…”

I let him lift me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist, my hands curving in his hair as I placed a trail of kisses across his face and down his neck. “I think I’ve got some idea of what you like by now, monkey man.”

I could feel his body vibrate with his laughter. “Yeah, we’ve got it going on pretty good.” He nuzzled my neck, and I dropped my head back and closed my eyes. He nipped at my neck and I felt the rumble of pleasure in my throat as I pressed closer to him. “Mmmmm, Rosa…”

The next moment he was kissing me hard, and I forgot about everything else as I lost myself in the taste and touch and feel of my Emmett gripped between my legs, one of his hands on my ass and the other one holding my head to his. I was squirming and Emmett’s kisses had moved from hot to demanding when there was a crash as the door was flung rudely open and Alice stamped her foot at us.

“Is it possible for you two to leave each other alone for five minutes?” she demanded theatrically. “Seriously…what part of ‘hunting down deranged stalker vampire’ translates to ‘let’s have a quickie’ in your minds?”

Emmett snorted with laughter, and maintaining as much dignity as I could I slid down out of his arms and straightened my jacket.

Alice turned sideways in the door and tapped her foot pointedly. “Downstairs you go…I hardly need to use my vision to see what’s going to happen if I leave you up here alone. So shoo!”

 Emmett sauntered out casually, and I flicked an invisible speck of dust off my clothes and followed him as Alice shook her head at me. “Really Rosalie, I expect better from you!” She gave me a teasing grin, and I knew she was only joking. “And it’s probably okay to wear for stalking someone through a forest, but that jacket you’re wearing is an offense to fashion and we’re going to have a serious talk about it later!”

Out in the forest there were no more jokes. We were all on high alert, moving through the trees in a loose formation, following Alice’s muttered directions. I was moving between Emmett and Esme, and I glanced from one set face to another, breathing deep to capture the scents of the forest.

“There!” Jasper, on the far end of the line, shouted out and suddenly it was on and we were flying.

I could see flashing glimpses of flaming red hair through the trees, and as much as possible I let my instincts take over as we ran, ducking and weaving. I heard her mocking call, and Emmett’s answering roar, but I kept my mouth shut and head down as I ran, listening for Alice’s shouts as she foresaw elusive manoeuvres from Victoria and tried to direct us around us.

We would have had her, I think. We were close and gaining all the time, and now she wasted no time or energy in taunts but instead ran with all the fierceness and determination she had. But we were right near the Quileute border now, and suddenly Alice went quiet and there was a foul scent overwhelming the trace of vampire and there _they_ were- the Quileute wolves.

Victoria couldn’t have known, and yet she somehow managed to channel her escaping run right down the line. First on our side, then theirs, and no one could follow her across. I heard Emmett’s frustrated cursing and saw him put on a burst of speed, enough that he came almost within grasping distance of her, but at the last moment she took a flying leap across the Quileute line and with a roar Emmett followed her and the chase descended in to chaos.

Emmett had landed in the creek marking the border and with a snarl a huge grey wolf had launched himself at him. They crashed together with a sound like thunder and fell apart, eyes locked and mouths open in teeth baring snarls.

“Emmett!” All thought of Victoria gone I swerved around and jumped towards him, knowing that I would rip that dog apart if he tried to hurt my man. I landed beside Emmett, crouched ready to spring and hissing aggressively. Shoulder to shoulder we faced the animal as it swung its head, snarling and looking for a gap in our defences.

“Emmett, Rosalie, NO!” Carlisle was on the bank behind us, his voice hard. “Back away, both of you.”

The wolf growled and Emmett made a return noise of menace. I snarled quietly, and on the opposite bank the wolves circled. One of them threw back his head and howled, and a smaller one crouched, ready to spring.

“Emmett and Rosalie, now please. Back up, slowly,” Carlisle was not asking but ordering with the whole weight of his authority behind the words- the ‘please’ was merely a formality. I could feel the familiar sensation of Jasper’s odd gift as he soothed my high running emotions and I wondered if his talent would work on the wolves. Carlisle held up his hands, palms forward in the gesture of the peacemaker, and spoke over our heads to the large dark wolf that was now pushing his way to the front of the pack on the Quileute side of the border. “It was a mistake…no one has broken the treaty.”

Emmett put an arm across my body and pushed me slightly behind him. Keeping his eyes on the wolf, his face a mask of menace, he moved us slowly backwards until the rocky bottom of the stream gave way to the slippery mud of the bank. I sprang lightly backwards to land beside Carlisle, and a second later Emmett was beside me. I met his eyes, and he reached down and held my hand with crushing force.

Across the stream the wolves were whining. Another one howled, and then they began moving into the forest. I watched them silently vanish into the trees, and remembered our previous dealings with the shapeshifters decades ago.

Jasper appeared out of the trees a little way upstream. “Nothing,” he said flatly. “No trace. I presume she used the water, but whatever she did she’ll be long gone.”

“Ah, fuck it,” Emmett said in disgust. “Goddamn dogs getting in the way”

Alice pursed her lips. “Well, that explains the blind spots in my visions of her.”

“There’s nothing more we can do now,” Carlisle sighed. “Let’s go home.”

As we ran home Emmett kept hold of my hand, slowing enough to let the others gradually draw away ahead of us. When we were alone he stopped and dropped my hand. I waited, and so swiftly I didn’t even see him move, Emmett seized my head between his hands and squeezed slightly.

I froze. This was possibly the most vulnerable position for a vampire to be in, certainly with someone of Emmett’s size and strength it had me at great risk. In one move he could tear my head from my neck or crush my skull, and there was very little I could do about it. But this was Emmett, and I wasn’t afraid as I met his eyes.

“You. Faced. Off. A. Werewolf. For. Me.” Emmett enunciated each word very distinctly, obviously fighting to control himself. “You…fucking hell, it could have killed you!” His control snapped and he kissed me with bruising force. “Don’t _ever_ do that again! Jesus Christ, when you were suddenly right there in front of that stinking dog’s fangs…” He let go off my head and pulled me against him, frantically touching and kissing anywhere hands and mouth could reach. “God, Rosa girl…don’t do that to me. Fuck, I was just being a bonehead, not thinking about where I was, and then you…fucking shit baby doll, I need you to use your brains for both of us, not get in the way of me being an asshole and risk yourself!”

His kisses and touches were making me dizzy, the ever present spark between us burning hot and bright as I growled with need and kissed him back. Pulling carelessly at clothes, fast and angry and desperate to be together in the way that we always worked best, the two of us fell to the ground in a tangle of limbs and hot wet kisses.  Emmett and I had always used sex to communicate with each other, using touches and looks and bodies to say what we couldn’t always find words for. Sometimes it was about love, sometimes about tenderness or desire or pleasure or hurt. And sometimes, like tonight, it was about fear and survival and reaffirming again that we were here, together in this shadow world of monsters and doing what we called living.

We were on the ground, tearing at what was left of our clothes, breathing hard. “Need you,” Emmett growled, pushing me to the ground. “Now, need you to be mine.”

“Yes,” I gasped, feeling him hard and hot and ready. “Mine, Emmett…oh god, fuck me, _yes!”_

There were no words at all then, just movement and that crazy, intoxicating mix of masculine hardness and feminine softness and pleasure so intense that nothing else mattered but the man I had between my legs and beneath my hands and what he was doing to me.  

He came first, nearly pulling my hair out of my head as he shuddered and jerked above me, and with a roar that shook the trees. Without pause I flipped him onto his back and fucked him hard until I felt my whole body convulsing around him, then caught up in an emotion I couldn’t name, I grabbed his hand and did something I’d never done before and bit him hard. My teeth sank into the flesh at the base of his thumb and as I clamped my lips onto his skin the venom flooded into my mouth, burning through my body as I dimly heard Emmett scream.

I sat astride him, his hand gripped between mine as I kissed his fingers and stared into his eyes, trembling. His eyes were wide and shocked.

“What was that?”

I stared down at his palm, at the mark my teeth had made in the skin, and shook my head slightly. It would heal, not immediately because of my own venom, but even when it healed it would leave a scar. Never had I even come close to doing something like that to Emmett, but out here under the moon, after the exhilaration of the chase and the blinding urge to protect him as my own in the face of the wolf, something instinctive had taken over. “I didn’t mean…” my voice trailed away, and then I went on dreamily, “ _I marked you as mine.”_

I could tell that Emmett understood, even if I hardly understood it myself. He felt it too. He raised himself up to a sitting position, holding me close in his lap, and nodded thoughtfully. His eyes met mine and holding my gaze he took hold of my hand and lifted it gently to his mouth. I felt his lips on my palm and I nodded breathlessly. “ _Do it. I want you to.”_

There was a sudden flash of burning pain as his teeth sank into my skin and I couldn’t stop the scream that broke from my lips. Emmett groaned and shuddered as he tasted me, and then he licked the wound and crushed our hands together, bite mark to bite mark. The burn in my palm intensified as the venom dripping from his hand mingled with mine but even as I moaned in pain I laced my fingers through his and held tight.

“I love you,” Emmett breathed. “You’re mine Rosa girl, my beautiful girl…I love you.”

The burning dulled to a throbbing ache as I kissed him deeply. “My Emmett.” I opened our hands and looked at the bite marks on our palms. Opposite hands, so that when we held hands the scars would be together.

Emmett rose to his feet and I stood beside him. “Come on baby doll,” he said quietly, “Let’s go home.” Naked, we walked through the forest under the half moon, feeling pain that was so rare in this vampire life, but pain that made me feel more alive than I had felt for decades.

At home we showered and dressed again, and then joined the others in the living room. Carlisle was on the phone, to Edward I realised after listening for a moment, and Alice was pacing unhappily in front of the window.

“Those stupid mutts!” she exclaimed irritably. “We would have been fine if they didn’t get in the way! They’re filling my visions with holes and it’s driving me crazy.” She glared across at Emmett and I. “At least you got rid of that horrible jacket,” she muttered petulantly. “Although you could have been more careful with the jeans, you know.”

Carlisle snapped the phone shut. “Edward’s up to date now. I’m sorry that it all happened as it did, I don’t know that we’ll have such a chance again. She knows we’re on to her and will be expecting her now.” He rubbed his nose thoughtfully. “Victoria certainly has good instincts for evasion…she ran that border line like she knew it was there.”

Emmett dropped onto the sofa beside Jasper and I sat on the bottom step, looking into the room. My palm still burned and I clenched my fingers, noticing as I did so that Emmett grimaced at the same time and unconsciously licked at the mark I’d left on his hand.

I was not the only one that noticed. Carlisle saw him and frowned in concern. “What’s wrong with your hand Emmett? Did the wolf get you?”

Startled, Emmett looked down at his palm and then closed his fingers over the bite mark before anyone else could see it. “What? No, of course not. Fucker would be nothing more than a rug by now if he’d left a mark on me.”

“You need to be more careful,” Carlisle said to him sternly. He frowned at me, including me in his reprimand. “We cannot antagonise the Quileutes- our life here is only possible because of the treaty.”

“But…” I began.

Carlisle held up a hand to stop me. “I know Rosalie. It was instinct to protect your mate, I don’t fault you for that, but we need to be careful. No one was really in the wrong tonight, but the situation could so easily have got out of hand. We need cool heads and reason to deal with the wolves, not impulsive hot headedness.”

I nodded. I didn’t disagree with Carlisle at all, I remembered when the treaty had been established and how much delicate negotiation had gone into that. “I wouldn’t start anything with them,” I said. “But I’ll defend myself and mine if I have to.”

“Keep in mind that the peace was fragile enough to begin with, and we’re not dealing with Ephraim Black anymore,” Carlisle said quietly. “These must be his sons or grandsons, and they may feel very differently to their forebears.”

 

 

Edward and Alice returned from school Monday afternoon with an unexpected and not entirely (at least on my behalf) welcome guest- Bella Swan.

I stayed sullenly at the living room computer, surfing auto sites as I contemplated updating my BMW. I wanted to talk to Edward about it, but as Bella tripped down the stairs and banged her hip hard into the arm of the sofa as she made her way to an armchair to sit down I decided this was not the time to bring it up.

“Bella!” Esme sounded delighted to see her. “Edward, you should have let us know you were both coming! I would have made a snack.” Cooking for Bella had become one of Esme’s favourite hobbies.

Bella smiled back. “It’s okay, I’m fine.”

“Did you enjoy your weekend in Florida?” Carlisle asked genially. “Esme and I were glad to see you use our gift, and I’m sure your mother was delighted to see you again.”

“It was good, thank you. But that’s kind of why I’m here.” She glanced across at Edward. “Edward had a…visitor this morning, at school.”

“Jacob Black,” Edward clarified. I could tell by the set of his mouth that he was less than pleased to have had the Quileute boy anywhere near Bella. “He came to remind of us of the treaty and to warn us that the wolves will not tolerate any breach of the terms. They will not hesitate to use force if anyone crosses the line again.”

Emmett scowled. “I didn’t cross any damn line! And I’d like to see them try and use force, the filthy fucking…” He saw Bella’s face and cut off his words.

“Nevertheless, that was the message Jacob Black delivered and now you’re all aware of it,” Edward sighed. “We can assume Victoria will try again, but if Alice keeps looking for her we’ll be prepared when she does.”

“But it’s all so dangerous!” Bella shifted agitatedly in her seat. “Look, wouldn’t this all just go away if I were to become one of you? I know we all said graduation, and at the time that made the most sense, but maybe we should think about it again? I’m too much of a liability while I’m still human! I don’t want any of you fighting for me, and I don’t want Jacob running around out there with a vampire on the loose either. I really think that maybe we should consider changing me now.”

“Absolutely not,” Edward’s voice was steely. “We can take care of this.”

Carlisle agreed. “There are seven of us, Bella. And with Alice on our side, I don’t think Victoria’s going to catch us off guard. I think it’s important for Charlie’s sake that we stick with the original plan.”

The idea of her father made Bella pause, but only briefly. “But I feel so weak and helpless,” she argued.

Esme kissed her on the forehead. “We’d never allow anything to happen to you, sweetheart. You know that. Please don’t be anxious.”

I clicked irritably through several websites, feeling caught between my absolute belief that Bella should never become one of us and the traitorous thought that if her change was inevitable, maybe it would be easier to just go ahead and do it and get our lives back.

“But what if she hurts one of you? Or Jacob?”

I thought it was interesting that Bella continually referred to her friend Jacob as being at risk. Clearly there was more going on between her and the dog than I was aware of.

“She won’t,” Jasper sounded casually assured, and I could feel him using his gifts to calm Bella down. “The wolves can take care of themselves. And we’re prepared for her Bella. We all have her scent, and Alice can see her coming…it’s not even a fair fight. She’ll never get near you.”

Emmett grinned at Bella. The idea of hunting the red haired vampire through the night forest and being able to use his strength and fighting ability ruthlessly was very appealing to him. He and Jasper fought and wrestled all the time, but as the stronger one Emmett always had to hold back, just a little, and it didn’t quite satisfy him. “I’m really glad Edward didn’t kill you,” he commented brightly. “Everything’s so much more fun with you around.”

Bella winced and shot me an apologetic look as I glared at Emmett. He just shrugged at me, his eyes sparkling at the thought of a fight.

Alice rolled her eyes theatrically. “I’m offended. You’re not honestly _worried_ about this, are you?”

“If it’s no big deal, then why did Edward drag me to Florida?” Bella demanded.

“Haven’t you noticed yet, Bella, that Edward is just the teensiest bit prone to overreaction?” Alice said patiently.

“And how,” I muttered. Edward’s overprotectiveness was becoming ridiculous.

Bella’s lips pursed, but Jasper smiled and shifted the emotional atmosphere of the room to calm, and Bella sighed and sat back in the chair, surrendering the argument.

 Turning off the computer I glided up the stairs and into my room. A few moments later Emmett followed me.

“Hey babe, you okay?”

I sat at the dressing table and began brushing my hair with perhaps a little more force than necessary.

“I’m fine!”

Emmett came and stood behind me, raising his eyebrows and smiling at my reflection in the mirror. He took the brush from me and began running it slowly through my hair. “Come on baby doll. Don’t be all shitty with me.”

I closed my eyes briefly. “I just don’t like it when you’re so reckless.”

Emmett continued brushing my hair with steady strokes. “I’m not being reckless though, not with this one. Seriously Rose, one of her and seven of us? Not even a challenge. We would have had her on Saturday if it hadn’t been for the wolves.”

“I know,” I sighed. “But you’re always itching for a fight and I don’t like it.”

“It’s such good fun though!” Emmett protested. “And you can’t tell me you didn’t enjoy the chase the other night either! The running and the hunting…and afterwards.” His voice dropped and he covered my hand with his, pressing the newly formed pale scars together.

I kissed our joined hands. “I love you Emmett. And yes, I admit that the hunting part of it is fun!” I stood up and leaned into him. “I just wonder how long this is going to go on. How long are we going to have to put all our energies into keeping Bella Swan safe, when the universe itself seems out to get her?”


	4. Treaty

“We should be nearly there,” Emmett frowned at the map and the directions written in Esme’s delicate script that he was holding in his hand. “There should be a driveway coming up on the left…look out for a rusted mailbox.”

The anticipated mailbox appeared, and I wrestled with the truck’s steering to take the sharp curve. Carlisle had bought the truck in a hurry and it had to be the worst vehicle I’d ever driven. “When we get settled here, I’m going to learn about cars,” I said furiously, as the truck groaned and shuddered over the potholed driveway. “Carlisle is always getting taken advantage of by every greasy mechanic with a sob story…I’m going to learn how to take care of the cars myself. I never want to drive something like this again!”

Emmett chuckled. “I’ll buy you a pair of coveralls baby.” His hand stroked my thigh, pushing up under my dress. “I think you’d look mighty fine in a pair of trousers.”

I giggled, and swatted his hand away. “Unless you want me to hit a tree or wind up in a ditch, let me concentrate on driving this monster.”

The driveway was long and winding, the woods growing up close on either side and arching over the top, blocking out the purple twilight sky. “I think Carlisle chose well,” I remarked. “This house must be miles away from the nearest neighbours.”

“Probably a good thing,” Emmett said guiltily. He looked at me and even in the dimness I could see the red in his usually golden irises. He tried very hard to stick to the same animal diet as the rest of us, but he had not mastered his thirst the way the rest of us had yet, and an unfortunate incident a week ago had precipitated the hastily arranged relocation to the small town of Hoquiam in Washington.

I risked taking a hand off the wheel to touch his cheek gently. “Don’t worry yourself about it Emmett. There’s nothing we can do to change it, just move on and keep trying.”

Before he could answer the driveway widened and the trees gave way to a small clearing with an overgrown garden surrounding a rambling colonial style house. The cars Edward and Carlisle had driven where already parked at the side of the house, and the two of them, along with Esme, were up on the porch with two strangers.

“Who is that?” I asked, peering at the unfamiliar couple. “And what are they doing on our porch?” Humans at our new house before we’d even moved in didn’t really bode well for the privacy we so valued.

“Oh hell,” Emmett muttered. He rubbed his eyes and looked at me anxiously. “This isn’t a good start.”

I pulled the truck over and stepped lightly down from the cab, walking over to the group on the porch.  Esme smiled at me brightly, and Carlisle, any anxiety well hidden, held out a hand to me.

“Rosalie, this is Dr. and Mrs. Brown. I’ll be working with Dr Brown at the clinic, and they’ve come by to welcome us to the neighbourhood. Dr. Brown, Mrs Brown, this is my daughter Rosalie, and her husband, Emmett.” Carlisle waved a hand at where Emmett, his head down and not meeting anyone’s eyes, was opening the back of the truck.

I smiled at the middle aged couple, trying to keep on my pleasant face even when the old man’s eyes took me in and flared, ever so briefly, with desire. Behind them Edward grimaced at me almost imperceptibly. “It’s lovely to meet you,” I said.

 “I see the truck made the trip okay,” Edward commented.

I rolled my eyes. “Barely. Carlisle really got the raw end of the deal with that.”

Dr. Brown chuckled. “Did I see you driving the truck in Rosalie? It’s a big vehicle for a girl like you.”

Edward was standing behind the Brown’s back and I could tell he wanted to laugh. He made a face at me, and I struggled not to roll my eyes. “Emmett’s better with the maps,” I said lightly. “I enjoy driving.”

“Well, we won’t hold you up any longer,” Dr. Brown said. “My wife and I just wanted to welcome you and drop by a dinner for your first night here. We’ll let you get on with moving in. Lucky you’ve got your son and son in law to help you Carlisle!”

“Thank you so much for the casserole,” Esme said sincerely, holding a covered ceramic dish in her hands. “It’s so appreciated. I’m sure we’ll be seeing you again soon.”

“I’ll be in to the clinic on Monday,” Carlisle said, shaking the doctor’s hand. “I’ll see you then.”

We watched the couple leave, and then looked at each other and laughed.

“I wasn’t really expecting that,” Carlisle confessed.

“And a casserole…how thoughtful,” Esme said. “Not for us, of course but…oh well, at least they’re trying to be friendly!”

I snorted and headed back to the truck to help Emmett, who had barely waited until the doctor’s car had disappeared down the driveway before he started hauling out furniture and boxes of books. Mostly books. For Carlisle the furniture was replaceable, but the books were not.

I left him to it and walked around the house. It was an older, rundown place, which was just the way Esme liked them. She loved being able to renovate and decorate and make each of our homes ours, no matter how briefly we might end up living there. The garden around it was large and had obviously been well tended at some point, and in the rear there was also a chicken coop and long fallow rows of what must have been a vegetable garden. Rows of fruit trees marked the borders of the cleared yard and beyond that was the timeless and majestic green of the national park.

“It’s quite something, isn’t it?” Carlisle had appeared soundlessly beside me. He breathed deeply and I did the same, scenting the forest and all it contained. “There will be good hunting here, and the weather makes it much easier for our human pretence. Not much sun here you know!”

“I hope we can stay for a while,” I said quietly. The past three years had been a tumultuous time for all of us. The chaotic nightmare of my vampire transformation and newborn time; my hatred and rage and the bloody revenge I had wrought as a result of it; the horrors of Volterra and the wonder of finding Emmett. The blissful joy of loving him mixed with the anxiety over his newborn impulsiveness and lack of control. “I just want to _stop_ …just be with Emmett and _breathe_ for a little while.”

Carlisle nodded thoughtfully. “I think we all need that,” he said quietly. “This will be a good place for it. A good place for all of us.”

We stood silently together for a moment, looking at the beauty of the forest sprawling out around our new home, before we reluctantly turned our backs on it and went about the tedious business of unpacking and settling in.

Hoquiam turned out to be almost exactly what we needed, at least at first. Carlisle had his work at the clinic and Esme had the house remodel and redecoration project. Emmett, Edward and I did most of the grunt work for Esme, and perhaps for the first time I found myself enjoying that kind of physical work. Certainly it was far better than the more ladylike pursuits of needlework and piano, which had always bored me silly!

As I had vowed on the drive to the new house I took my interest in cars to the next level and became absorbed in their inner workings, finding that I had more than a flair for it. As promised Emmett bought me my first pair of overalls which, when I pulled them on and showed off to him, he promptly removed so that they wouldn’t be in his way. I don’t think we put clothes on for the next three days, that time.

Even Edward and I stopped sniping at each other and became almost friends, something that had previously seemed impossible.

After becoming accustomed to the comfort of my overalls I borrowed a pair of Edward’s trousers and wore them while I helped Esme out in the garden, dirtying my nails for the first time in my life and discovering that I didn’t mind it. Edward was scandalised by the trousers, and Esme giggled but made me promise I’d never wear them in to town, but Carlisle merely raised a tolerant eyebrow and shrugged. Emmett teased me mercilessly, but I saw the way his eyes watched me walk and the way his breathing quickened at the sight of my legs and rear in Edward’s trousers and I felt confident that he really didn’t mind the new style, not at all.

I would remember it, even years later, as the tiny space of time in which I learned what it could be like in this family we had made. When I began to see beyond the beautifully grotesque life of the vampire and notice the possibilities. When I learned how to love Emmett, really love him and give myself to him without reservation, and how to make _mine_ into _ours._ When I began to see, for the first time, the rules and boundaries that had hemmed me in my whole life and question their necessity.

For the first time in my life, I let go of _perfect._ I took my first, faltering steps towards an independence of spirit I had never allowed myself to feel, and it felt good. Really, really good. For the first time, the vampire idea of _forever_ didn’t terrify me and in the shadow world we existed in I began to feel the sun.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxo

“Rosalie? Emmett?”

There was a knock at the bedroom door, and I lazily untangled my legs from Emmett’s and went to answer it, wrapping one of his big shirts around me. It was Esme, and if she could have been blushing she would have been as she caught sight of a naked Emmett scrambling to cover himself as he lay in the ruins of what had once been a very nice iron bedstead. I pulled the door behind me to block her view.

“I am sorry for the…er…disturbance,” she said, with a laugh in her voice, “But I’ll be going in to town this morning and I’ve had word that there are a number of packages and parcels awaiting collection. I thought it would probably look better if Emmett and Edward came along to carry them. I thought you might like the trip too, you haven’t been in to town before.”

I nodded. “Of course, I’d love to. Emmett and I will just…get ready.” I glanced behind me, where Emmett had given up trying to cover himself and was sprawled out in all his naked glory, smiling at me in a way that sent my thoughts skittering in several directions, none of which I wanted to share my pseudo mother figure. “We’ll be out in a minute…soon.”

I shut the door and leaned against it, biting my lip and smiling down at Emmett. “You can’t look at me like that when I’m talking to someone!”

“Look at you like what?” he asked, all dimples and innocence.

“Like that!” My breath caught in my throat. “Like you want me…like you’re thinking about me naked and all the things you want to do to me…do with me.”

“But I _am_ thinking that,” Emmett said teasingly, his eyes dark as he looked at me. Unconsciously he licked his lip and I felt my knees weaken. _So much want._ “I’m thinking it all the time, Rosa girl. I saw you standing up there, with those beautiful legs coming out of the bottom of my shirt, and I don’t want them on the other side of the room from me. I want them wrapped around my hips while I ride you, and I want them up on my shoulders while I taste you, and I want…”

The words were cut off as I made an inarticulate sound of desperation and kissed him hard. “Don’t tell me anymore,” I whispered hoarsely. “Show me, Emmett. Show me what you want… _oh my god, yes, yes yes…”_

It felt close to madness, what there was between Emmett and I in those days. Love and desire so fierce and all-consuming it sometimes frightened me. The vulnerability of loving him, of giving him my heart and trusting him to treasure it, of being bare and naked in front of him in so many more ways than the obvious.

I could not have enough of him. I could not be near him without touching him, no matter how small the way, and when he was away from me, usually only when he went hunting with Edward, I felt his absence like something physical. I watched him all the time, my inner heart alight with joy tinged with incredulity that this glorious man was mine.

Because that was the miracle in my eyes, that whatever I felt for Emmett he more than returned. He worshipped me, and offered everything without demanding anything in return. He loved me, and not as a beautiful object to be won or used, but as _me._ He took me, with all my faults and flaws and baggage, and called me angel, and when the words ran out he showed me with his mouth and body and eyes how much he loved me and needed me.

Carlisle and Esme, remembering their own early days, treated the two of us with amused indulgence. They were patient with our lapses in propriety, and used their own discretion when necessary. I didn’t know until a long time after how many doors they silently closed or why they both suddenly had such an interest in taking long walks through the forest when they didn’t need to hunt. Edward, at the mercy not only of what he could see and hear with his physical senses but also in the unfortunate position of hearing every single thought in Emmett’s or my head, alternated between being scandalised, appalled and irritated and even, on one particular evening, asking Carlisle to kill him to put him out of his misery. He too took to spending a lot of time in the forest.

The part of me that still remembered all my mother’s exhortations on being a lady was mortified that everyone knew how very unladylike I was when I was with Emmett. The other part of me, the part that opened my legs for him at a look, and went down on my knees in front of him for the pleasure of hearing him moan and feeling him tremble under my hands, well that part of me didn’t care at all and seemed to be the part dictating nearly all my actions.

“Will it always be like this?” I asked Esme almost desperately one night, as I paced through the garden. “He’s only out hunting with Edward and I can’t stand it! It’s like…I ache when he’s not near me, and when he is near me I burn and he’s all I can think about!” Mortified at my own admission I dropped my eyes. “I want him so much…I know we have forever, but it almost doesn’t seem long enough.”

Esme tranquilly continued pruning the fruit trees, showing no shock at my wanton pronouncements. Rather, she smiled at me gently. “Darling girl, I’m so happy you and Emmett have found each other. I really think he is exactly what you needed and you’re so perfectly what he needs too. As for whether it will always be like _this_ …I think with you and Emmett being the kind of people you are, that physical element of your relationship will always be a large part of it. You’re both too passionate and tempestuous to settle down to staid married life! But I think it won’t always be so all encompassing as it is right now.” Esme smiled reminiscently. “When I was first with Carlisle is was all very intense. Poor Edward! He had to put up with us all alone! But things do settle down Rosalie. You and Emmett are still learning each other, learning how to be together as a couple and you’ll find a way to balance your lives in time.”

Find a way to balance our lives…how to balance that exultant love and passionate desire and still be part of a family. For Emmett and I it was never going to be an easy balancing act and as I wrapped my legs around him the morning that Esme asked us to accompany her in to town and felt the pleasure build until the only thing holding me together was the dark, desiring eyes locked on mine, I wondered blearily if I even cared.

Of course I did care really, and eventually tore myself away from the wonder of Emmett’s body and what he could do to me, and attempted to turn myself back into a lady. Dress and slip and stockings, and even a hat and gloves once I’d combed and curled and pinned up my hair. I looked at myself in the mirror in satisfaction when I was done. Oh, it was fun to wear braids and Edward’s trousers at home, more fun still to play with long, rumpled bed hair and nakedness with Emmett, but there was a certain pleasure in dressing up and making myself look pretty.

“You look beautiful,” Emmett came up behind me and kissed the back of my neck, smoothing a hand across my hip. “Come on baby, they’ll be waiting.”

Edward was playing the piano and Esme was reading when Emmett and I appeared in the living room, but they rose to their feet and hurried out to the car without delay. Glancing at the clock I realised guiltily that Emmett and I had been longer than I thought, and I made up my mind once again that I would try and be more circumspect in the future.

Edward drove us in to town. I had been working on the car, making some adjustments to the suspension and steering as I learned what I was doing, and I was curious to hear his opinion.

“What do you think?” I asked him, ever impatient. “Would you agree it handles much better?”

Edward smiled at me over his shoulder. “Yes, of course I’d agree. You’ve done an excellent job…not that I would expect anything less from you when you put your mind to something.”

I sat back in my seat, pleased with myself. “I think we need to talk Carlisle into a sports car,” I suggested. “Something with a bit more power than this old cart anyway!”

Edward snorted. “Give a girl a spanner and the next thing you know she wants to be a race car driver…you’re going to be a menace, Rosalie! Still,” his eyes sparkled. “It would be fun. Count me in.”

The town was small. A few storefronts and businesses strung out along a main street with Carlisle’s medical clinic at the end of it and a scattering of residential roads. The largest building was the hotel, and I caught the slightly wistful glance Emmett gave it. I knew enough of his human life to know that hotels and saloons and moonshine whisky stills had been a feature.

There were a surprising number of people milling about in the streets and going in and out of the stores. I stood for a minute, breathing in the scents and smells of the town- humans and horses, timber and motors and mud- while I adjusted to it. Beside me Emmett was tense, and I touched his hand lightly and gave him a reassuring nod of my head. He grimaced at me and then took my arm.

“Come on baby, let’s check this place out.”

The four of us walked down the street to the post office and general store. I was aware of the many curious glances sent our way, and I held my head high. Let them look. It was a very masculine town, with the timber workers camp lying just outside it and all the farmers and traders. The few women that I saw were plainly dressed and had a hard and work worn look about them and in my expensive clothes and Parisian hat I felt absurdly like some exotic bird. 

 In the store Esme took the boys to the counter and the three of them began collecting the parcels and packages that had been delivered there for us. I wandered about the store looking at the merchandise while they took things out to the car, and when I started to feel bored I told Esme that I was going to investigate the dry goods store further down the street. Maybe they’d have something nice.

I walked slowly down the street once I was outside. The raised wooden walkway was muddy and slippery, which posed no problem for me with my vampire reflexes, but I took my cue from the humans and stepped carefully.

Ahead of me walked a native couple, and I remembered Carlisle talking about the Quileute people who lived on a reservation to the north of us. Two small boys trailed behind them. They were perhaps two and four years old, adorable chubby cheeked babies with brown skin and untidy mops of dark hair, and as I watched them with a small smile they began tussling over a toy. Their voices rose, high and shrill in argument, and I watched in amusement as the older one tried to take whatever it was that the little one was holding on to with such grim determination. They reminded me a little of Edward and Emmett playing football.

Suddenly the toy flew out from between them. The little one tried to grab it, but not being so steady on his feet he slipped on the edge of the walkway and went tumbling. Acting on instinct I jumped forward and caught him in one hand, my other hand closing around the dropped toy.

The child looked at me with his inscrutable dark eyes. He didn’t seem afraid, and I couldn’t help but smile at him as I placed him upright back on the walkway. “There you go, little one,” I said softly.

His mother turned and reached for him, scolding him gently in a language I didn’t recognise. She took both children firmly by the hands, and then she caught sight of my face and gasped, her eyes wide. She spoke rapidly to the man beside her who swung around and, as his dark eyes locked on to mine and he muttered what sounded like curses in their language, I felt a faint and unfamiliar flicker of fear.

“He fell...he dropped this,” I held out my hand with the toy, but the look the man gave me then was one of unutterable horror and I took an abrupt step back. He hustled the woman and the little boys away and I stared after him, mystified.

I knew I made people uncomfortable. My looks, my golden vampire stare, the preternatural perfection of my face and voice…it all drew humans in at the same time as their long buried instincts screamed at them to stay away from the predator I was. But the reaction of these Quileutes had gone far beyond that, and my own instincts were prickling uncomfortably. Something about this was very, very wrong.

“Rosalie? I thought you’d be in the store by now?” Esme’s voice interrupted my thoughts, and I shook my head and turned to face them. Edward was frowning, and I knew he was picking thoughts out of my head but I was too rattled to even be angry.

“It makes no sense,” he said to me. “That reaction seems too personal to just be the usual unease we evoke in humans.” He glanced at Esme and Emmett. “Rosalie has just had a run in with some of the Quileutes.”

“Are you okay?” Esme sounded concerned and Emmett’s scowl darkened.

“I’m fine,” I said. “It wasn’t anything serious. A child fell and I helped him and the parents were…strange.” I glanced around. “Come on, we’re starting to look a little obvious here. We should keep walking.”

Edward and Esme led the way towards the dry goods store and I fell into step beside Emmett. He placed a gentle hand on the back of my neck.

“Are you really okay?” When I nodded, he looked down at my hand. “What have you got there?”

“It’s the toy the children were playing with. I tried to give it back, but they wouldn’t take it.” And I opened my fingers and showed Emmett what was held in my palm-the carved wooden figure of a wolf.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxo

 

 

 I couldn’t shake the feeling of unease the incident in town had left me with. Once at home I helped Esme hem the new dresses she’d bought in town and tried to look through the catalogues I had had delivered, but I couldn’t concentrate on any of it, not even the beautiful lingerie that was usually my favourite. Emmett happily offered to choose for me, but I laughed and shook my head at him.

“Come out hunting with me?” I said finally, pulling the uncomfortable pins from my hair and shaking it loose. Maybe a long run and feeding would settle my thoughts.

Emmett agreed with alacrity and the two of us set off in the twilight. Emmett was thirstier than I was after the strain of being around humans in town for hours and he took the lead in hunting something down. We were lucky enough to come across a bear, which Emmett played with until he ‘worked up an appetite’ as he said. He offered to share and the two of us made short work of it, but feeling full did nothing to soothe my restlessness.

Emmett noticed. “You don’t want to go home yet, do you Rose?” he asked. “Because there’s something I’ve wanted to do since we moved here.”

I shrugged. “Whatever it is has to be better than sewing with Esme…let’s go.”

Emmett ran through the forest, and I followed him. He seemed to know exactly where he was going, although this didn’t surprise me. I had learned any tracking and navigation skills I had only since my vampire transformation but Emmett had been at home in the outdoors long before he became one of us. He was probably as skilled as Carlisle at finding his way through the woods. He didn’t stop running until we emerged from the woods on the high bluff overlooking the sea.

The ocean was beautiful in the moonlight, glittering silver as the waves crashed against the rocks beneath us and the spray drifted up in the wind to dampen our faces. Droplets caught in Emmett’s hair, sparkling like diamonds, and I reached out a hand to touch him just because he was too beautiful not to. He caught my hand and kissed my palm and grinned at me with carefree joy.

“Can you swim, baby doll?”

“I never have before.”

Emmett laughed. “As if it matters…you don’t even need to breathe anymore, of course you can swim!” He began stripping off his clothes. “Come on sweetheart…you’ll love it.”

Slowly, I followed his lead. I trusted him absolutely…but the ocean?

Emmett took my hand and tugged me over to the edge of the bluff. “Jump out,” he directed. “I’ll hold your hand…really, what’s the worst that can happen? We can’t die, but maybe for a second we can fly.”

I couldn’t help but smile back. “Okay then…don’t let go!” Hands clasped, we launched ourselves off the cliff and, just for a moment, we were flying. Emmett’s exhilarated whoop was cut off as we plunged beneath the waves, and then he kicked hard and pulled both of us up to the surface.

“Just keep kicking,” he said to me. “You’ll be fine.” He let go of me and floated away, and I did what he said and found that I could indeed swim, and what’s more, like most of the physical activities Emmett had pushed me to try, I was enjoying it. I laughed as I ducked under the water and came up to find Emmett smiling at me.

“You like it?”

“It’s amazing!” I swam over to him and wrapped my arms around his neck, feeling the length of his body cool and slick against mine beneath the waves. “I had no idea that it would be like this!”

“We used to swim all the time, my brothers and I,” Emmett said casually. “Not in the ocean, of course, just rivers and ponds, but I loved it.”

My hair swirled around me in the water, and I found myself laughing. “I feel like a mermaid!”

“Maybe we’ll meet one,” Emmett wrapped his arms around me and we somersaulted through the water, silver liquid and stars swirling all around us. “After all,” he continued with an impish grin as we broke the surface and he kissed me. “If we’re vampires and we exist, who knows what else might be out there?”

We didn’t meet any mermaids. But we found shells and seaweed, tried fish and spat it back out, rock climbed up the cliffs and somersaulted back into the sea and made love on the rocks as the waves crashed down over the top of us. As dawn began breaking over the mountains and Emmett and I reluctantly left the water I knew we’d found a whole new kind of wonderful for us.

Far to the north of us, atop the highest cliff, a bonfire burned.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

 

 

“There’s something out there in the forest.”

I looked up from my book. Edward was standing in the doorway, his hair and clothes damp from the rain, and a concerned frown on his face.

“Something…like what?” Emmett asked, dealing cards to Carlisle and Esme.

“I don’t know.” Edward sat down at the table with the others and Emmett dealt him a hand. “Have none of you smelled anything out there? Something unfamiliar?”

Carlisle paused in playing. “Further north?”

“Yes,” Edward nodded. “You have then? You didn’t recognise it?”

“No,” Carlisle and Edward exchanged a long, measured glance, and then Edward nodded.

“It does concern me. There’s something about it that makes me uneasy,” he said quietly.

Emmett laid down his cards with a sigh. “What are you two talking about? What does it smell like?”

“It’s an animal scent,” Edward told him. “But nothing I know, and it sets every single sense I have on high alert. There is _something_ about it that I don’t like.”

“So let’s go hunting!” Emmett said with enthusiasm. “I’m sick of cards anyway…this could be fun.”

I frowned at him, and Esme looked concerned. “Are you sure that’s wise?”

Emmett shrugged, and Carlisle looked thoughtfully out into the dripping forest. “If it’s concerning Edward it is probably worth investigating.”

“I’d like your opinion on it,” Edward said. “And I think perhaps Emmett should come too.”

I banged my book down on to the couch, irritated as always by Edward’s habit of dismissing me. “You’re not leaving me out. I’m coming too.”

Esme sighed. “Well, it looks like I’ll be coming along too then, since I don’t want to stay at home alone while you all go rushing off towards who knows what!” She bundled the cards together and then stood up, the rest of joining her in the search for shoes and dressing in more suitable hunting clothes.

We ran silently through the forest for a long time. I was beginning to wonder if Edward had taken us on some kind of fool’s errand when he slowed and beckoned us closer.

As soon as the scent hit my nose, I understood why Edward had been concerned. It was animal and yet not…I felt like my skin was prickling with unease as my mind sought to categorise the unfamiliar. Emmett looked at me, equally bewildered.

We followed the scent through the forest, moving more cautiously as it got stronger. Without talking about it we slipped into protective formation as we went forward, Carlisle leading with Esme and I on either side of him coming up next, Edward and Emmett taking on the protection of the flanks. We were facing into the wind when suddenly my senses were flooded with the strange scent and my ears heard the most unearthly howling of wolves, and then Carlisle shouted and we were running and circling. We came together again on the edge of a clearing, staring stunned at the sight of the three beasts in front of us. They were wolves, with thick fur and teeth bared in snarls, but they were the size of ponies and the eyes had a peculiar intelligence as they met mine in a challenge.

“What the ever loving hell?” breathed Emmett beside me.

The wolves bunched together in the centre, swinging their huge heads around to look at each of us in turn. They looked longest at Esme who was the smallest and, at least on a cursory examination of us, the weakest link. One of them threw its head back and howled, as the other two whined.

Beside me, Emmett was crouched ready to spring. He checked me in his peripheral vision and then called out to Carlisle, “I’ll take down the big black one. If you and Rose take the grey, Edward and Esme can get the last one. Do it now, while we’re all out here together. Yeah?”

I flexed and tensed my muscles, preparing to carry out Emmett’s plan. No, I didn’t know what the hell these huge beasts were but it was easy to see that they were dangerous. And maybe they weren’t going to hurt me now, but I didn’t want to be out in this forest outnumbered one day and have to find out differently. The idea of all that hot, tasty carnivore blood crept into my mind and I licked my lip as the venom began to run. We could do this.

“Wait,” Edward, still staring at the animals, held up a hand in Emmett’s direction. “Carlisle, they’re not wolves…they’re men.”

The reaction from the wolves was instantaneous. All three of them swung their heads to face Edward, almost as if they had understood him…

“They can’t be,” I said harshly. “Look at them!”

“No,” Edward stared very hard at the big black wolf. “They’re…shapeshifters.”

“Does it matter what they are?” Emmett’s voice was low, and he had not relaxed his stance at all. “That big bastard of a thing wants to kill me Edward, and I’m not interested in dying again thanks.”

“Of course it matters,” Carlisle’s voice was calm. “Edward, can you tell us more?”

“It’s confusing,” Edward muttered. “I can hear all three of them at once and the thoughts are tangled in a way that yours aren’t. But they certainly understand what I’m saying.”

Carlisle stepped forward, his whole body looking as relaxed as though he was about to introduce himself to someone in their parlour over a cup of tea.

“My name is Carlisle Cullen, and this is my family,” he said. “Edward is telling me you are not really wolves…”

“They’re Quileutes,” Edward said quietly. “From the reservation.”

I couldn’t help my start of surprise. “The man in town!” I exclaimed. “The one with the children…” I remembered Emmett’s words the evening we had swum in the ocean- _after all, if we’re vampires and we exist, who knows what else it out there?_ -and felt my whole worldview shiver as the largest of the wolves, the black one with the smooth, sleek fur, turned his head and looked me in the eye.

“He recognised what you are, Rosalie. _The cold ones._ They’ve been following our trails through the forest and down by the sea, seeking a way to destroy us.” Edward’s voice was emotionless. “They see themselves as protectors of humanity, warriors against the monsters such as us.”

Carlisle frowned and addressed the wolves. “We have no wish to engage in battle. My family and I do not prey on humans and feed only on the animals we hunt in the forest.” He glanced across at Edward. “Edward is a telepath and can read your thoughts. As I have said, I have no argument with you and no wish for violence.”

“They’re wondering if you speak the truth,” Edward went on. “They’ve noticed our eyes, and they know that we live together as a family. Rosalie was kind to the child…they’re confused by our differences to their legends of the Cold Ones.”

“We differ from your legends because we _are_ different.” Carlisle continued speaking to the wolves. “I know the Cold Ones of your stories, and my family and I do not live like that. We believe very strongly in the preservation of human life and the bonds of family. I work as a medical doctor in town.”

Edward frowned. “They believe that we are different, but they still see it as their duty to destroy us.”

“I’d like to see them try,” Emmett muttered.

“Emmett, enough.” Carlisle tapped his fingers for a moment and then spoke quietly to the wolves again. “I see no reason for violence here. Your task is to protect humans, and my family and I pose no threat to them. It should be possible to come to some agreement where we can all live in peace.” He paused. “I don’t wish this to sound like a threat, but right now there are five of us and only three of you. I hope you can take my offer of peace as proof of my intentions, since we could have killed you all without pause but have chosen not to.”

“They’re the only wolves in the tribe,” Edward said. “There have only ever been three. Enough to deal with a mated pair I suppose, and that’s always been all that was needed.”

“Are you interested in a compromise then?” Carlisle asked directly.

Edward frowned intently. “They’re interested. They’re also very suspicious.”

“Understandably,” Carlisle smiled. “Very well then, as a sign of good faith my family and I shall leave you now to discuss my proposal. I shall return at this time tomorrow.” He nodded at the wolves and, taking Esme’s hand, turned for home.

I hissed as he turned his back on the wolves, but the three animals stood at frozen attention as Carlisle and Esme vanished into the trees. Emmett and I backed away slowly, Edward falling into line beside me as we passed him. As soon as the wolves were out of sight we turned and ran, the forest blurring as we flew home.

“I can’t believe we backed off that fight!” Emmett sounded more disappointed than anything else.

Carlisle shook his head. “You know how I feel about needless violence Emmett, and there seems no reason why we can’t coexist in peace as long as they are willing. Edward?”

Edward shrugged. “They believed you. The fact that we outnumbered them but offered mercy made a great impression, and I think they will be willing to talk when we return tomorrow.” He gave Carlisle a hard stare. “But we will _all_ go tomorrow Carlisle. They have done nothing to deserve our trust as yet, and we need to maintain our show of strength.”

Carlisle’s hand still gently clasped Esme’s, and he looked at her briefly before he nodded to Edward. “That seems sensible.”

“You didn’t actually need to give them a chance to discuss it either,” Edward said. “From what I could take from their minds they’re the tribal elders and although it’s a tribe matter they will make the decision.” He paused. “It’s also difficult to explain, but when I said their thoughts were tangled I meant it. They seemed to communicate telepathically. Only with each other; they could hear no thoughts from anyone outside the pack. I don’t quite understand it, there was a lot of Quileute language mixed in with their thoughts and it’s not something I’ve come across before.”

“Fascinating,” Carlisle murmured. “This could be an extraordinary opportunity to find out more of what exists and is possible in this world. What other stories and legends are true?”

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

 

 

There was a break in the rain as we travelled through the forest for our meeting with the Quileutes the following day. We walked together, not overly anxious but wary, wondering what we would find. Emmett held my hand and walked beside me, matching his stride to mine.

“They’re ahead,” Edward said quietly. “I can hear their thoughts. Careful now.”

Emmett’s grip on my hand tightened almost imperceptibly as we stepped through the trees into the clearing. The three wolves were already there, standing at attention in front of us. For a long moment there was no movement or sound as both sides considered each other.

“They agree,” Edward said quietly to Carlisle, who smiled widely.

“Thank you for coming.”

I was watching, but even my vampire eyes almost missed the moment as the largest black wolf seemed to shimmer for a moment before shrinking and morphing into the figure of a man. I couldn’t stop my small start of surprise as I stared at him, this naked man with his smooth brown skin and rumpled dark hair and eyes that almost seemed to be laughing as he looked thoughtfully at each one of us in turn. When his eyes met mine I realised he was the man I had seen with the children in town. He clearly remembered me for he inclined his head slightly, and I felt Emmett’s possessive hand slip across my back and hold me closer to him.

“Good afternoon Carlisle Cullen and family,” he said politely. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Ephraim Black, and these are my companions Levi Uley and Quil Ateara. I hope you will understand if they feel more comfortable remaining in their wolf forms for the time being.”

“Of course,” Carlisle said courteously, offering his hand. “Thank you for coming today. This is my family, Esme, Edward, Emmett and Rosalie.”

Ephraim Black hesitated only briefly before laying his hand in Carlisle’s. It should have looked absurd, a naked Indian shaking hands with a well dressed vampire on a dark green forest afternoon, but somehow it looked anything but ridiculous. There was something fierce and compelling about the dark eyes that met each of ours, unafraid even as he shook hands with everyone. As I felt the burning heat of his palm and fingers wrap around my ice cold hand I couldn’t have said which emotion I felt most acutely-  deep revulsion or the intense desire to reach out and touch him. Confused and unsettled I dropped his hands as quickly as I could and turned to Emmett, his reassuring bulk and the familiar and beloved scent of him soothing my scattered thoughts.

“I appreciate your willingness to listen to what we have to say,” Carlisle went on. “I am not in favour of violence when peaceful means are possible.”

Ephraim Black nodded. “I understand. It is our sacred duty to protect humans from harm at the hands of the Cold Ones, but you…”he shrugged.

“We are not like those who may have come before,” Carlisle said.

“We are willing to make a treaty with you, Carlisle Cullen,” Ephraim said formally. “In exchange for certain concessions we will not seek war with you.”

“What concessions did you have in mind?” Carlisle asked.

“None of you are to set foot on Quileute land. I believe your intentions are good Carlisle Cullen, but you fight your nature and I would not see my people harmed if you or yours were to lose that fight,” Ephraim said slowly. “You cannot be banished from the town, but our protection expands to the whites there are well. There must be no human deaths attributable to you.” His eyes narrowed and he looked at Carlisle steadily. “I know how the Cold Ones create new ones, and I must insist that the practise be forbidden as part of the treaty. Any increase in your numbers would be seen as an act of potential aggression.”

“So far I’m only hearing demands,” Emmett muttered suspiciously. “What do we get out of this deal?”

“Emmett,” Carlisle warned.

Ephraim Black half smiled at Emmett. “A peaceful existence,” he said mildly. “You and your family can go out into the forest to hunt and know that you are at no risk from us. You would not need to worry, every time your woman leaves your sight, that she is being stalked by death.”

Emmett growled low in his throat and instinctively pulled me closer to him. I stroked his hand with my fingers. “Don’t get upset,” I murmured, my eyes still on the Quileute man. “He’s not threatening me, he’s just making the point.”

“I think we can all agree that going about our lives separately and peacefully is for the best,” Carlisle said. “Your conditions pose no problems for us. We will stay away from the Quileute lands and shall neither kill nor bite any humans. I would ask for one thing from your tribe also; that you commit to upholding the secrets of my family.”

“We’re part of their legends,” Edward said quietly, frowning as he listened intently to the wolves minds. “The stories of the Cold Ones are an integral part of their history.”

Carlisle nodded. “I understand and respect that, but I am asking that our names are not brought in to this. Let the Cold Ones continue to be a legend, but do not attach our faces or the name of Cullen to the tale and do not encourage the spreading of stories beyond your tribe.”

Ephraim glanced back at his wolf brothers, and then nodded. “Your request is reasonable, Carlisle Cullen, and we will honour it. Secrecy benefits us all.” A ghost of a smile drifted across his face. “It would not do at all for the white men to learn what the Quileute people are capable of. The Cold Ones are not the only enemies my people face.”

“Indeed.” Carlisle’s face was set. I knew the way his views on human life influenced his beliefs in equality, and the way the treatment of the native people bothered him. “It seems we are reaching agreement then. My family will promise not to trespass on your tribal lands, but will have our own lands for hunting, and we may all travel freely outside these treaty areas.”

“My people will uphold the secrecy of your true nature, just as you do,” Ephraim contributed.

“And we promise not to injure any humans through death or transformation,” Carlisle finished quietly. The two men shook hand solemnly.

What followed was perhaps the strangest night of my life, vampire or human, as Ephraim Black transformed back into the big black animal we had first seen, and my family ran with the wolf pack as the boundary lines of the newly formed treaty were marked. I was surprised to learn how much land Carlisle had purchased in the area, but he merely smiled at me a little ruefully.

“I like the Pacific Northwest Rosalie, and it seems to suit the family. Our life is long and I had hoped to create a house here that we could return to in the future. I wasn’t really anticipating Quileute shape shifters, I must confess, or perhaps I would have made other plans!”

I understood then that Carlisle’s desire for a treaty went beyond his desire to avoid violence in the present. He was planning for a distant future and wanted no feud with these people. This treaty, if we honoured it, would keep us safe far beyond the life of Ephraim Black and Levi Uley and Quil Ateara.

 We ended up back in the clearing where we had started as the sun broke over the mountains the following morning. The wolves had kept pace with us through the night without seeming to tire, and as we entered the clearing the large dark wolf shivered and then once again I was looking at the naked Ephraim Black. There was no self consciousness in his face as he stood easily before Carlisle and once again shook his hand.

“Thank you,” Carlisle said sincerely. “I appreciate your willingness to listen to me more than I can say.”

“I believe we have done good work here tonight, Carlisle Cullen,” Ephraim Black said seriously. “I hope this treaty stands and my people are able to live in peace and safety alongside your family.” He paused, and then actually grinned and winked. “Although you will understand if I hope to never lay eyes on you again!”

Carlisle chuckled, and nodded. “Of course. Goodbye then, Ephraim, and god speed.”

“Wait,” I said suddenly. “I have something for you.”

Ignoring the others’ surprised looks I crossed the grass and stood in front of Ephraim Black. I could almost feel the heat radiating off his body and once again I had the unsettling sensation of wanting to both touch him and flee from him. I fumbled in my pocket, and pulled out the wooden wolf toy that I had caught from his son.

“Will you take this back to your child?” I said softly. “When we met you in town I picked it up, but it’s not mine and I think I shouldn’t keep it, not under the circumstances.”

Ephraim Black gave me an unreadable look, but slowly held out his hand. I placed the toy in it, feeling his fingers touch mine briefly. The sun, breaking through the trees, made my skin sparkle beside his smooth brownness and I snatched my hand back before he could comment on it and stepped back into the shadows. I met his eyes then, half defiantly, but he did nothing but look at me gently and murmur something in Quileute.

“Thank you Rosalie Cullen,” he said formally, and I nodded at him in acknowledgement and turned back to my family, reaching out to touch Emmett’s hand. We stood in a group, watching as Ephraim and his two companions left the clearing and vanished among the trees, and I wondered if we would ever see them again.


	5. A different perspective

“You _have_ to help, Rosalie,” Alice pouted. “It won’t be a proper sleepover if it’s just me and Bella.”

I snorted. “You say that like I care.”

“You _should_ care,” Alice said huffily. “You’re my sister! I promised Edward that we’ll keep Bella here safe while he and the other boys go out hunting. Don’t you want them to have a good time? You know if Edward is worried he’ll just make it difficult for everyone else or else he’ll come home and starve himself. And I really think we need some quality girl time.”

I didn’t even look up from my book. “Edward can live on rodents from Bella Swan’s attic for the rest of eternity for all I care,” I said heartlessly. “And your idea of quality girl time doesn’t seem to be quite the same as mine.”

“Rosalie!” Alice snatched my book out of my hand and leaped across the room to the door.

“Give that back!” I snapped.

“Not until you promise to join in!”

I jumped at her, but having seen what I was about to do she was too quick for me and had whisked out of the room and was halfway down the stairs. I shouted a string of curses after her that would have done Emmett proud, and then flew after her, vaulting over the stair rail and landing one floor down, just ahead of Alice who shrieked (little freak hadn’t seen _that_ coming!) and leaped from the stairs up on to the top of the window frame, pressing herself against the wall and holding the book aloft.

“Whooo yeah, girl fight!” Emmett shouted from where he was playing on the x-box, and then laughed as I flipped him the bird. “Come on baby doll, you can take her!”

I narrowed my eyes at Alice. “Give me back my book,” I said sternly. “And get it into your head that I am not going to sit around in pyjamas having pillow fights and doing hairstyles with Bella Swan just so you can live out some sick sleepover fantasy!”

Alice considered me for a minute and then suddenly smiled angelically. “I’ll let you drive my new car.”

I paused. “What new car?” I said suspiciously.

Alice’s laughter trilled. “I knew that would get you!” she said exultantly. “Edward promised me a Porsche like the one I stole when we were in Italy. A 911, canary yellow…oh, Rosalie, I know how much you want to get your hands on it! Promise you’ll play nice with Bella and help with my sleepover and I’ll let you drive it.” Her eyes gleamed triumphantly. She knew she had my weak spot. “It’s out in the garage right now…” she added coaxingly.

“Okay!” I threw up my hands in surrender. “I’ll play nice! But I draw the line at makeovers Alice, and I mean it!” Ignoring Emmett’s mocking laughter I glared at Alice in exasperation. “Now get down from the walls, Spidergirl, and get me the keys to this new toy!”

Alice tossed my book onto the sofa and dropped to the floor beside me, smiling sweetly. “It will be worth it Rosalie; you’re going to be so jealous of my new baby!”

Two hours later, as I skidded Alice’s beautiful new car to a stop in our garage I had to admit she was right- a sleepover with Bella Swan was a fair price to pay for the joy of indulging my inner rally car driver with Alice’s new toy! Emmett, who had jammed himself in to the car at the last minute, making Alice sit on his knee, whooped with glee as my last second stop missed his Jeep by inches, and Alice shook her head at my flashiness.

“You are such a hoon, Rosalie!” she said, trying to sound stern but half laughing. “You’re worse than Edward and I when it comes to speed!”

I smiled smugly. “But that’s what this baby was made for Alice!” Exhilarated I kissed Emmett hard. “Damn…even I would babysit Bella Swan if Edward would give me one of these!”

Emmett laughed and pulled me half across his lap. “I’ll buy you one for Christmas angel, and no babysitting required. Hell, you can drive…what a ride!”

“Mmmm, I knew there was a reason I loved you,” I murmured. I drifted a hand up his thigh and grinned at him wickedly. “Besides that one, of course!”

“Oh no you don’t!” Alice seized my wrist and yanked me out of the car. “No, no, no, absolutely not…you are NOT having sex in my brand new car!” She pushed me firmly away and tapped her foot impatiently until Emmett managed to extract himself from the Porsche, which wasn’t exactly build to accommodate someone his size in comfort. “Get out! I don’t care what kind of debauchery you get up to in your BMW, and I never told Edward what I saw you doing on his Aston Martin (although he would _kill_ you and I’m shocked that neither of you have let it slip to him!) but you can leave my beautiful car out of it, thank you very much!”

I giggled and rolled my eyes, and blew Alice a kiss as Emmett started bundling me towards the house. “Thank you for the drive, Alice!”

“Remember your promise!” she called after me. “Bella will be back with me after school, and you’ve promised to be _nice_ Rose!”

The boys left for their hunting trip before Alice returned from school. Edward’s eyes as he said goodbye were black, and I thought they were going probably not a moment too soon. I hoped the others could get to him to relax and enjoy himself at least a little this weekend, as his hyper vigilance over Bella and excessive worrying was really getting very tedious for everyone else.

Esme and I drove into town and went shopping for things we might need for a human weekend guest. Esme was so excited at the prospect of a houseguest that I had to stop her going overboard- there were only so many snacks Bella could eat, and I really doubted she would need the pack of eighteen rolls of toilet paper Esme tossed in the cart.

I put it firmly back on the shelf. “Come on Esme, she’s hardly going to use the bathroom that often. Besides, what do you think Emmett and Jasper are going to go with that much toilet paper lying around the house? We don’t need to encourage their acts of petty vandalism by providing them with materials!” I dropped a three pack of toilet rolls in the cart. “That will be fine. And I don’t think Bella will really want a whole case of soda and six different packages of chips, plus all those cookies and chocolates and we don’t have to have _every_ flavour of ice cream.” I poked through the cart, amazed at how many things she’d collected while I’d been selecting a magazine. “Esme!” I started laughing. “You’ve practically got a pharmacy in here! You don’t need Tylenol _and_ Advil _and_ ibuprofen _and_ antacids _and_ anti-histamines _and_ cold and flu remedy _and_ burn cream _and_ one of each type of sticking plaster and bandage on the shelf! I know it’s Bella, but even so…Carlisle left his doctor bag behind and I do have a medical degree you know. I can give her morphine and stitch her back together if I have to.” I spoke confidently, but underneath I hoped Bella’s clumsiness would not require my skills over the course of the weekend. Theoretically I was a doctor, but in practical terms I was vastly inexperienced.

“I just want to be prepared!” Esme said defensively. “We’ve never had a human guest and I want Bella to be comfortable!”

“I know that, but all this stuff…” I looked in the cart again. “Feminine hygiene products? Because that’s not going to embarrass the hell out of her, knowing you’ve been shopping for her period needs!”

Esme was the one embarrassed now. “Just in case!”

I rolled my eyes and replaced the box on the shelf. “I’m sure she would appreciate the thought. But trust me, it’s really not necessary this weekend.” It was an inescapable fact of vampire life that our superior sense of smell meant we were forced to be more aware of the inner workings of the humans around us than we might like. And while I would never dream of indicating to Bella that I knew such things about her, I was very sure that she would not need those kind of supplies over this weekend.

“Come on,” I sighed, “Let’s go home. Alice will be back soon.”

Bella was half angry and half resigned as she and Alice entered the house after school. I could hear her talking as they came in through the garage.

“Alice, don’t you think this is just a little bit controlling? Just a tiny bit psychotic, maybe?”

I raised my eyebrows at Esme. Maybe Bella was starting to see my pseudo-brother a little more clearly?

“Not really,” Alice answered. “You don’t seem to grasp how dangerous a young werewolf can be. Especially when I can’t see them. Edward has no way to know if you’re safe. You shouldn’t be so reckless.”

Bella was not pacified by this answer, and snapped back acidly, “Yes, because a vampire slumber party is the pinnacle of safety conscious behaviour!” and I bit back a laugh.

“I’ll give you a pedicure and everything,” Alice said cheerfully, dragging Bella into the living room. “It’ll be fun! I’ve got movies and we can stay up late…well, you can stay up late, it’s not as though I’ll be staying up as such since I never actually go to sleep…”

Bella eye rolled with such disgust that I was reminded rather humorously of me, but she sat herself down on the sofa with resignation and began examining the dvds Alice had laid out. She chose one and after noticing her staring helplessly at the remote controls of the complicated home theatre system Edward and I had hooked together I silently put it on for her.

While Alice painted Bella’s toenails Esme slipped out and came back with dinner for Bella, which she ate with many thanks. Alice reminded me with fierce frowns and pointed fingers that I had promised to join in and play nice at her sleepover, so I sat quietly on the floor doing Edward’s calculus homework and then finishing off Alice’s term paper for physics while half watching the movie. Once I got used to the sound of Bella’s heartbeat and breathing and fidgety human movements, and became accustomed to scenting her blood here at home it was even kind of nice having a quiet girls’ night at home, something we hadn’t done for a long time.

“So how late do you want to stay up?” Alice asked gleefully, after the second dvd had finished.

“We’ve got school in the morning,” Bella muttered grumpily. “And where am I supposed to sleep anyway?”

I hid my smile. I had seen the bed Edward had had delivered earlier in the week, and thought it probable that Bella would be sleeping in a style she’d never yet experienced tonight. Simple was not exactly Edward’s motto.

Somewhat reluctantly Alice handed over her cell phone to Bella, who called her friend Jacob the werewolf to cancel plans they apparently had to get together on the weekend. Apparently hanging out with the local vampire population thirsting for her blood wasn’t enough, and Bella was good friends with the other monsters. Did the girl have a serious death wish?

I pretended not to listen as she laughed with Jacob, then hung up and dialled Edward and left him a threatening message. At least, it would have been threatening if she wasn’t like a kitten meowing at a mountain lion, but I had to concede a reluctant approval of her spirit. Besides, it would be good for Edward to get the scolding he had coming to him- while I might agree with his opinions about werewolves and the desirability of keeping Bella away from them, I thought his methods were ridiculously heavy handed.

“I’m going to sleep now,” Bella announced, heading towards the stairs. Alice tripped after her, ostensibly to show her where her things were but more truthfully to see her reaction to Edward’s new and ostentatious (if beautiful) bed.

I slipped outside briefly, pacing around the edge of the clearing our house sat in, with my senses alert for any indication of danger. But there was nothing. For once it was a clear night, and the moonlight showed nothing more sinister or dangerous than me roaming about.

I missed Emmett. When he was gone I realised how much he anchored me; without the smiles and kisses and touches that punctuated our days together I had a vague but constant sense of unease and something missing. I stared out into the forest and wished he’d hurry home.

Above me the lights in Edward’s room flicked off, and I glanced up thoughtfully. It occurred to me that for the first time I had Bella Swan in close proximity to me and away from Edward. This may well be the only opportunity I had to push away the bad feelings between us and talk to her, try and make her understand why I felt the way I did. Maybe she needed to hear about the vampire life she was dreaming of from someone besides Edward.

As I stepped back inside the house Alice leaned over the back of the sofa and looked at me seriously. “Are you sure you want to do this Rose? It probably won’t change anything you know, and it will probably make Edward very angry.” She frowned. “Depending on what you say…you’re not even sure what you’re going to say yet though.”

I nodded. “It might be the only chance I have. And maybe it won’t change Bella’s mind, but I will never feel right about this if I don’t at least _try_ and talk to her.” I shrugged, and walked quietly up the stairs and down the hall to Edward’s room, where I knocked quietly.

“What is it, Alice?” came the cross response, and I hid a smile and opened the door.

“It’s me, Rosalie,” I said. “Can I come in?”

Bella was not in fact on the enormously elaborate bed Edward had chosen for her. Instead she was sitting huddled on one end of his black sofa, with a pillow behind her and the gold coverlet from the bed draped over her. She looked shocked and a little uneasy to see me there, and I wondered if she’d even listen to me, knowing as she did how much I had disliked her for taking a place in my family.

“Do you mind talking to me for a few minutes?” I asked slowly. “You weren’t asleep or anything?”

“No, no, I was still awake. Talking’s fine, come on in,” Bella’s voice held a high note of alarm and I winced inwardly. Had I really been that awful to her?

_Well, yes actually Rosalie, you have been awful to her!_ Aloud I said, “He so rarely leaves you alone. I figured I should make the best of this opportunity.” I paused for a moment. _Be nice Rosalie! Be…human. Try and make her see._ “I hope you don’t think I’m horribly interfering. I know I’ve hurt your feelings in the past, and I’m not here to do that now. I _really_ don’t want to do that now.”

 Bella’s face held a mix of curiosity and fear, and I smiled gently and tried to choose my words carefully.

“I thought I should try and tell you why I think you stay human. Why I would stay human if I were in your position.”

“Oh.” Bella sounded shocked, and I smiled briefly and then sighed, wondering where exactly to start.

“Did Edward ever tell you what led to this?” I waved a hand to indicate myself. “How I became what I am now?”

Bella’s eyes went dark. “He said it was close to what happened to me that time in Port Angeles, only no one was there to save _you_.”

“And that’s all he told you?”

Bella nodded, a little confused. “He doesn’t like to tell other people’s stories. He feels it’s unfair, in a way, because he hears so much more than people say.”

I smiled softly. “He can be a very thoughtful man, when he wants to be. There _is_ more to my story though Bella, if you’d like to hear it. It doesn’t have a very happy ending- but which of ours does? If we had happy endings we’d all be under gravestones now.”

Bella looked a little frightened by my tone of voice and morbid imaging, but she nodded her head. “I’d like to hear, if you want to tell me.”

I ran a hand through my hair and began. “I grew up in a very different world to the one you did Bella. Simpler really, at least for me. In 1933 I was eighteen years old, I was beautiful, and I was on the verge of getting everything I’d ever wanted. My life was perfect.”

I paused for a minute, remembering that last year of my human life with the familiar, biting ache. “I grew up as the only daughter in a thoroughly middle class family. We were not wealthy, but we had plenty and I don’t remember ever wanting for anything. The Great Depression was going on then but it didn’t have any bearing on my life. I was spoiled and petted and grew up getting what I wanted…I didn’t see any reason why that wouldn’t continue.

“My parents loved me, but they also saw me as something of an asset. They had social ambitions for themselves you see, and a pretty, accomplished daughter could help them realise them. I was raised to be a lady Bella…I don’t know if you can really understand what that was like. I socialised with the right people, went to the right schools, I always had the right clothes, lessons in dance and piano and fancy needlework and all the things that girls of a certain class need to know. I was taught, from a very early age, that my value lay not in who I was but in what I appeared to be- I was beautiful and could be charming when I wanted to be, and rarely had reason to be otherwise. I knew it was my pretty face and vivacious ways that would win me a man and the place in the world I was raised to believe I deserved.”

Bella’s eyes were wide in the dim light, and she looked fascinated. I smiled at her, a little ruefully, and continued. “It probably sounds awful to you. But I was a girl in the thirties and it was all that I knew, and I was content with that. I loved my life Bella. I loved being me, Rosalie Hale. I loved being pretty, knowing that my friends envied me and that everywhere I went men looked at me. I loved my parents and wanted to make them happy and proud of me. I wanted what they wanted for me- I wanted to be married to someone rich, and have an elaborate wedding where I would be the most beautiful bride anyone had ever seen. I wanted a big, beautiful house that someone else would clean for me, and a modern kitchen that someone else would cook in for me. It sounds so shallow, and it was, I know that, but I was young and naïve and silly and didn’t know any better.

“There were a couple of things I wanted that were more meaningful. The husband…I wanted him to be rich and young and handsome of course, but I wanted him to love me. I wanted to be adored and cherished Bella, I wanted to be loved so much. And I wanted a baby, a sweet little baby with rosy cheeks I could hold close in my arms and rain kisses on,” I sighed. “I had a friend, Vera…she married young, a carpenter, which was something my parents would never have considered for me. A year later she had a baby, a darling little boy with black curls and dimples and, well, for the first time in my life I was truly jealous. Someone else had something I wanted and didn’t have.”

Bella looked like she was listening to a fairy tale. I thought of the quiet and pragmatic Charlie Swan, and the things I’d pieced together about Bella’s scatty, irresponsible mother and the way Bella had been raised, and I wondered if she could really understand my human world and how it had shaped me, and the lessons it might have for her.

“I know it’s different to your world now,” I said slowly. “I was eighteen, the same age as you, and yet I was more than ready to be married and have a baby. There was no talk of careers and personal fulfilment…being a wife and a mother was the inevitable trajectory of most female’s lives back then.” I hesitated, feeling the approaching storm in my tale and reluctant to revisit it. “There was one family in Rochester then, the Kings, who were the closest thing to celebrity. They were enormously wealthy and very powerful around town, and through various means my parents managed to gain an introduction for me to the son and heir- Royce King II. One meeting was all it took really. That night I received a bouquet of roses from him…he would send them every day of our courtship, until my house was so full of them I couldn’t go into any room without seeing bunches of blooms. So many roses…the house always smelled of them.” I could not hold back my shudder. “Even today, I hate having roses in the house.

“Of course at the time I was just lost in the romance of it. I was young, and naïve and desperate to fall in love, and here was this man offering me the keys to the kingdom. He was like a handsome prince from a story come to make me a princess, and we were engaged within two months of that first meeting.

“I didn’t know him well, not really. He was handsome and charming and rich, and that was enough for someone as shallow as I was. We didn’t spend very much time alone together either, even once we were engaged. He had responsibilities with work, and then he liked to take me out and show me off, have people look at us and see that he’d caught the most beautiful girl in Rochester.” My mouth twisted. “I had my head turned by all his flattery, and all the jealousy of the other girls and their mamas. My parents too, they were so happy and proud. It was all they’d ever wanted for me. Everything was perfect…or close enough. The babies I wanted would come after the wedding, and if Royce was sometimes a little brusque, or if there were signs that he could be unkind, it was easy to overlook. _I had everything._ ”

I stopped speaking, pressing my palms together for a moment. Bella knew enough of my story to know what was coming, and she huddled a little further under the gold comforter as she watched me.

“That last night, I was at my friend Vera’s house. I held her baby and dreamed of having my own. It was late when I left, too late, and it was dark out as I hurried home. Dark and cold, and I remember that I worried about the weather and the wedding as I walked, I didn’t want to have to move the wedding indoors. I was quite close to home when I saw them.” My voice dropped. “I didn’t recognise them at first, but as I came closer I heard my name and saw that it was Royce and some friends. My first thought was one of relief…I thought he could walk me home and keep me safe.” A bitter smile crossed my face. “Of course, he had different ideas…I could tell they’d been drinking. I could smell it, and his voice was not so smooth as usual when he said my name. Royce took hold of me, but he was too rough and he tore the buttons off my coat. I can still remember the noise they made as they scattered in the street…he was pawing me and talking to his friends about me as though I wasn’t even there and couldn’t hear, and when I tried to pull away he hit me. When I cried out from the pain, they seemed to like that…” I noticed Bella’s sick, pale face and bit my lip, half surprised by how much I had put into words for her. Perhaps not since I told Emmett my sorry story had I said so much about that last brutal night.

“I won’t tell you what happened next,” I went on quietly. “I’m sure you can guess. They thought I was dead when they were done, and they left me in the dark alleyway. I _would_ have died if Carlisle hadn’t found me, and I was in so much pain that I didn’t even care. I was waiting for it, and wondering why it was taking so to die, when I heard someone coming near me- I recognised the young doctor from town. Carlisle of course, he’d smelled the blood and come to investigate. He picked me up and carried me home, and I remember as the stars whirled above my head that I thought he was taking me to heaven. Then he bit me and the burning started and I thought he’d taken me to hell.”

Bella’s eyes were enormous in her pale face. For a moment I wished I had Edward’s gift and could tell what she was thinking, but all I could do was go on with my tale. “The burning was…I can’t describe it. I wanted to die. I begged them to kill me, Carlisle and Esme and Edward, and I screamed and screamed. Carlisle stayed with me, he held my hands and talked to me about what was happening, but I didn’t want to believe him. He kept saying sorry.” I took a deep breath. “Edward wasn’t happy with me being there. He thought I was too recognisable, and really he was right. It was madness what Carlisle did to me, madness on so many levels. But it was done nevertheless, and then we just had to live with the consequences.”

There was a long silence, and when I went on the subject was slightly different. “You know, my record is almost as clean as Carlisle’s,” I told her with a note of pride in my voice. “Better than Esme’s. A thousand times better than Edward, even. I’ve never killed a human for their blood,” I clarified.

Bella thought over my words, and her face was puzzled. “ _Almost_ as clean…?”

“I did murder five humans,” I told her calmly. “If you can call them _human,_ and that’s debateable. But I didn’t feed on them…I was never going to have any part of them in me ever again. I took what Carlisle and Esme and Edward taught me about hunting and I hunted them all down, those men who had hurt me. I saved Royce for last. I wanted him to know I was coming, and I wanted him to be afraid…” I chuckled, without humour. “It was silly really. Not the killing, but that I was so theatrical about it. I wore a wedding dress when I sought out Royce, and I used every vampire power I had to appear terrifying to him. I made him wretchedly afraid and helpless, and I made him hurt…”

Suddenly realising what I must sound like, I cut off my words. Bella looked like she was going to throw up. Her face was as white as mine, and her lower lip trembled.

“I’m sorry,” I said awkwardly. “I’m frightening you. I got carried away.”

“That’s okay,” Bella waved a hand, unconvincingly. “I’m fine.”

I twisted one of the rings on my fingers. “I’m surprised Edward didn’t tell you any of that.”

Bella smiled. “Like I said, he doesn’t like to betray confidences. He doesn’t really tell tales.”

I sighed. “I should give him more credit than I do, I think. I know I haven’t been very fair to you Bella…did he tell you why?”

“He said it was because I was human. He said that it was hard for you, having someone on the outside who knew.”

I laughed, both at Edward and myself. “Oh, what a liar he can be when he wants to be! Now I’m feeling awfully guilty. He’s been much kinder about me than I thought he would have been!”

“What’s he been lying about?” Bella sounded suddenly suspicious.

“Oh, it’s not really lying. What he told you was true- I _do_ hate people on the outside knowing what I am. It’s not very comfortable knowing that the thing I hate most is out there for people to know. But at first…” I would have blushed if I could, feeling a wave of embarrassment making me squirm. “At first I was mostly jealous because he wanted _you_ and not me.”

“But you love Emmett…” Bella mumbled, and as I caught the half desperate glance she gave my vampiric perfection I could sense her uncertainty and I smiled at her warmly and shook my head.

“Oh, I don’t want Edward in that way! I never did…truly Bella, Edward irritated me from the very first word I heard him say, and I know he found me nothing but an annoying nuisance from the moment I opened my newborn red eyes and threw a tantrum!” I couldn’t help laughing as I remembered my years with Edward. “He’s my brother now and I love him, and I think he loves me too, but you have no idea how much we’ve fought over the years! The fact that we’ve never got along didn’t matter to me though- when he didn’t want me at the start I was _offended._ I was so used to being wanted, you see, and in a way my beauty was all that I had…if someone didn’t want that, then it felt like my whole existence was invalidated. But as the years went by and Edward never wanted anyone else- not even when we went to Denali and there were all those females and they were so very interested in him!- I thought it was about him, and not me. And then you came along.” I looked at her. “He found you more attractive than he found me, and I’m vain and silly enough that I minded.”

“You said ‘at first’ though,” Bella said slowly. “That doesn’t still bother you, does it? I mean, anyone with eyes knows you’re the most beautiful person on the planet.” She half laughed as she spoke and looked away in embarrassment, and I laughed a little too.

“Thank you for saying that. No, it doesn’t bother me anymore. Edward has always been a little…different.” I played absently with a strand of hair.

Bella frowned unhappily. “But you still don’t like me,” she whispered. “Why is that? Have I done something?”

“No,” I murmured. “It’s not that you’ve done anything. Not on purpose, anyway. Not yet…”

She stared at me blankly, and when I spoke again frustration and passion made my voice urgent. “Don’t you see? You have e _verything_ Bella _._ You have a whole life ahead of you- you can do and be anything you want, and you’re just going to _throw it all away._ I would do anything, trade everything I have to be you and have those choices you have, and yet you have it all and you’re choosing _wrong!”_

Bella shrank back from my fervour, and I rubbed a hand wearily over my eyes and sighed. “Damn it…I was so determined to do this calmly! I wanted to give you something to think about, not scare you off. It’s just that it’s so hard now, when we’re all in this so deep.”

I gazed past Bella at the moon outside, trying to calm my thoughts. Bella interrupted me a moment later, sounding half scared and half joking as she asked, “Would you like me better if I made the choice you would make and stayed human?”

My lip twitched. “Maybe!”

“You did get a happy ending though,” Bella offered. “You got Emmett.”

Just the thought of my beautiful bear of a man made a smile spread across my face. “I got half. You know I saved him from a bear that was mauling him to death, and carried him home to Carlisle, right? But can you guess why I didn’t kill him myself, with all that blood everywhere? I wanted to, I wanted that blood in the worst way imaginable, but I looked at his face and even then, blood and mud and fur everywhere, he smiled at me and …well, you’ve seen Emmett. You’ve seen the dimples and that _innocence_ he has that isn’t something you expect to see in the face of a grown up man. He reminded me of Vera’s little baby and, I don’t know really…” My voice trailed away for a moment, before I continued thoughtfully. “I just knew I had to save him, and I was selfish enough to make Carlisle change him when that was the only way.”

Bella nodded as I went on. “Finding Emmett was the best thing that could have happened. He was everything I needed when I didn’t even know I needed it, and it was like he brought the sun into my life and made this existence okay. My early vampire years were very unhappy Bella, and Emmett saved me from myself as surely as I saved him from that bear. He is just what I need, and somehow I’m just what he wants and the two of us work. What I have with Emmett is wonderful…but there will never be more than the two of us. There will never be a sweet baby with his daddy’s dimples and his mama’s blue eyes, and we’ll never sit together, grey haired and old, surrounded by grandchildren and know that our lives have meant something.”

Bella was frowning slightly as though she was puzzling over all that I had said. I smiled gently at her. “It probably sounds crazy to you, doesn’t it? In some ways you’re more mature than I was at eighteen, but in other ways…it’s a different time now, and these are things you’ve probably never thought of, not seriously. You’re so young Bella! So young to make such a permanent decision, especially not without all the facts and not without thinking through e _verything_ you’ll be giving up. And don’t be mistaken Bella, you would be giving up a lot…Alice doesn’t remember being human so she doesn’t miss it, and the boys are, well, they’re boys. Esme makes do with us as her substitute children and remembering that she had a child of her own, but I don’t have that and you won’t either. You will remember being human Bella, and you will miss it and have to live with all that you’ve given up for eternity.”

There was a long silence then, broken as Bella smiled at me, looking warmer and more relaxed than she ever had in my presence. “Thanks, Rosalie. I appreciate you giving me another perspective.” She fiddled with the neck of her pyjama top. “It’s nice to understand, a little, and get to know you better.”

I grinned at her. “Well, I’m sorry I’ve been so horrid to you.” I giggled. “Emmett calls me Princess Bitchface when I get like that…I’ll try and behave myself better from now on!”

Bella gave me a genuine grin in return and I was glad I had come in here to talk to her. Perhaps it would change nothing, but at least I had given her something to think about and I would not need to live with the regret of something I should have said.

“I’ll let you sleep now,” I said. My eyes flicked to the bed, and I couldn’t help the smirk. “I know you’re frustrated that Edward’s behaving like such a possessive psychopath…”

A giggle burst out, and Bella clapped her hands over her mouth.

“Give him hell, by all means,” I went on. “He deserves it! But he loves you more than you know, and his heart is in the right place even if his methods still need work.” I rose to my feet and drifted towards the door. “Goodnight Bella.”

“Goodnight Rosalie.” Bella waved and I closed the door behind me and walked slowly down the stairs to the living area. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - Much of this chapter happened in Eclipse. I've rewritten the conversation between Rosalie and Bella in my own words, hopefully keeping the gist and main message of what SM wrote. Details of Rosalie's past might differ a bit from published canon, I can't really remember right now, but what she says here is consistent with her story as I've written it in my previous fics.
> 
> Hope you're enjoying this Eclipse rewrite- any comments or suggestions always welcome!


	6. New threats

Alice came home from school the following afternoon with none of her usual sparkle. In fact, as she stomped through from the garage and dropped her bag on the floor by the door she looked absolutely furious.

“Aren’t you missing something?” I asked, as Bella failed to appear behind her.

Alice scowled. “She’s gone to the reservation with that dog!”

I raised my eyebrows. “Edward’s going to kill you.”

Alice flopped dramatically backwards on to the sofa. “Don’t remind me! And really, it’s not my fault at all. He just turned up after school and practically kidnapped her…I can’t see what he’s planning and she was planning nothing so of course I totally missed it.”

“Fancy someone kidnapping Bella, who would have thought?” I murmured sarcastically. “I mean, it’s not as though you would e _ver_ force her somewhere against her will, would you?”

“Oh, shut up Rose,” Alice grumped.

“Do you think she’ll be okay?” Esme said anxiously. “I don’t know what we can do.”

“She’ll be fine,” I sighed.

Alice shrugged. “Who knows? We’ll just have to wait and see.” She stuck her lower lip out. “Now Edward will take the car back- it was a shameless bribe and I couldn’t even keep up my end of the bargain for more than a day!”

Both Alice and Esme fretted about Bella for the remainder of the afternoon. I admit to a faint feeling of unease as I thought of Bella in the company of a young and immature werewolf and out of reach of our help; and a stronger feeling of trepidation when I considered what Edward was likely to do to us when he discovered how we’d failed to guard his precious Bella!

As I had expected though she turned up later that evening, and apart from looking like a drowned rabbit as she was drenched by the rain, she was no worse for her adventure. There was no smell of wolf with her and, wondering how she’d got here, I peeked into the garage and saw an old motorbike parked next to Alice’s yellow Porsche. At the idea of Bella- of all people!- riding a motorbike on the rain slicked highways around Forks I blanched, and began to think perhaps Edward’s obsessive concern over her safety was not unwarranted. The girl seemed to have a completely impaired sense of self preservation.

Bella was quiet and uncommunicative for the rest of the evening, and excused herself to go to bed early. I couldn’t resist going out to the garage and poking around at her bike, but despite its obvious age and the questionable origin of some of the parts it was in pretty good shape. It wouldn’t be a mechanical fault that would cause her to crash on the thing, anyway. I wondered if her friend Jacob had fixed it for her, and I mocked myself for becoming as inquisitive and interfering as Edward and Alice were when it came to Bella Swan! With a sigh I propped the bike back up and brought my book out to the garage to read while I sat in my BMW and waited for Emmett.

It was early the following morning when the Jeep pulled into the garage. I couldn’t help my grin as Emmett jumped down and enveloped me in a crushing hug. “Damn it all, baby doll, I missed you!”

He nuzzled my neck and I caught my hands in his curly hair and kissed him, before pushing him away and making a face as my hands caught in a matted tangle of dried blood in his curls. “You smell like bear.” I looked at the rest of him, shredded clothes and dried blood and mud all over, and shook my head. “Really Emmett! You’d think by now you wouldn’t make such a mess!”

He flashed his dimples at me and shrugged. Emmett had a habit of playing with his food, and had the dubious distinction of being the sloppiest vampire eater any of us had ever seen. It wasn’t something that worried him.

I held his hand, our twin scars pressed together and looked at the others. Alice and Esme had come out to the garage too and were busy with Carlisle and Jasper, but Edward was looking at Bella’s motorcycle and frowning. He glanced up at me.

“She’s fine,” I told him. “In your room, asleep.” I couldn’t help the thought of last night’s conversation from coming to the forefront of my mind. _I told her my story Edward…how I came to be this way. I told her all the reasons I would stay human if I were her, and why I think she should too._

Edward looking at me sharply. “And?”

I shrugged. _I don’t know. I doubt it made any difference really, but at least now she has that perspective…I’m sorry Edward. You’ve been much kinder about me to her than I thought you would have been. Nicer than I deserve, I know! I don’t want to make this worse for you than it is already. I hope I didn’t frighten her; I didn’t really hold back when I spoke with her._

He closed his eyes briefly as he listened to my thoughts. “You never do, Rose!”

_I wasn’t that bad! She seemed to understand, a little. And you’ll be pleased to know that I apologised for being such a bitch to her. I don’t like the situation Edward, I’m never going to like it, but Bella’s okay._

“Well, that’s something I suppose,” Edward sighed, turning to enter the house. Emmett and I followed him up the stairs and then headed into our room, where I pushed Emmett towards the shower and began filling the tub.

“Wash that shit off and then you can join me in the tub,” I said teasingly.

Emmett grinned, and stripped off what remained of his clothes before getting into the shower. He didn’t bother with the hot water but scrubbed himself ruthlessly under an icy blast.

“What was all that about with Edward?” he asked a few moments later through streams of water, as he rinsed shampoo out of his hair. “Have you been a naughty girl while I was gone, baby doll?”

I chuckled, slowly removing my clothes. “Not exactly.” I sat naked on the edge of the tub for a minute and then as Emmett turned off the shower I slid under the bubbles. The water rose as Emmett climbed in behind me, and then I sat in between his legs leaning back against his chest and turned on the jets with my foot. “I just had a conversation with Bella last night, that’s all.”

“Mmmhm?” Emmett’s soapy hands were caressing me, and I closed my eyes and relaxed into his touch. I hated him being gone. Sometimes it felt like the best version of me only existed in his eyes, and I needed him beside me so I could find myself. “And what did you say to Bella, my angel girl?”

“I just told her about why I thought she should stay human,” I whispered tiredly. “It won’t make any difference, but I had to try. And I knew Edward wouldn’t trust me near her so I had to do it while he was gone.” I paused. “I told her a lot of things actually. That last night…I don’t think I’ve ever told anyone so much since I told you.”

Emmett’s arms tightened around me, but he didn’t say anything. I took his hand and traced the barely visible scar I’d given him that night in the woods, then kissed it and said quietly, “I love you so much Emmett. I don’t say it enough, that I love you and that you saved me, but it’s true. I owe you everything.”

“Look at me, angel girl.”

I slid around on Emmett’s lap, wrapping my legs around his hips. He was hard, aroused by the feel of my naked body on his, and wanting to be as close to him as possible I slid down on him, making a soft noise of pleasure as I felt the full length of him fill me.

I felt his answering rumble of pleasure as he moved within me, but he was slow and gentle and his hands tipped my face up to meet his. “You don’t owe me anything, Rosa. None of this is about obligation,” he said quietly. His eyes were dark with desire and his face was dreamy and blissful as I rubbed against him. “I don’t want to take anything you don’t want to give…it’s just about loving each other, as best we know how.” His big hands held me still as he kissed me deeply. “I love you, pretty girl. Don’t want anything else but coming home to you and knowing you’re mine.”

I kissed him back and, eye to eye, we moved together, reaffirming with hushed words and gentle hands and the ancient giving and receiving of bodies and hearts that we belonged together.

 

“I’m in,” I announced, staring intently at the laptop screen on my knees.

Lying on the sofa beside me Emmett checked his watch and shook his head. “Eleven minutes twenty eight seconds. You rock, baby doll.”

I smirked. “Well, I have to do something with my time. Computer hacking is a useful skill.” I glanced at the screen in front of me and tutted disapprovingly. “Really, Edward and Alice Cullen have an appalling number of school absences and tardies this semester.” I clicked the mouse a couple of times. “That’s much better. But…oh dear, it seems Edward suddenly has some rather large library fines he needs to pay before graduation…”

Emmett laughed. “You’re such a bitch.”

“I know,” I chuckled and made sure the new charges on Edward’s library account matched the numbers of the date of my vampire transformation so he’d know I was responsible. I left the altered attendance records and exited the school’s database Emmett had just timed me hacking into. Computer hacking was a useful skill in our way of life, and I had been spending a lot of my spare time playing with code, loving the way something so complex broke down into rules and patterns that could be manipulated so easily.

I shut the laptop and put it on the floor. Emmett smiled at me lazily and held out his arms to me. “Come here, pretty girl.”

Obligingly I slid up to lie alongside him. He grabbed my knee and hooked it up over his hip so that I was pressed against him, and then his hand slid up under my shirt as his head lowered to kiss my neck.

“Again?” I asked him teasingly, catching his earlobe in my teeth. “You’ve got some stamina, monkey man.”

Emmett chuckled, grinding his hips suggestively against me. “I missed you the last couple of days. Hunting with the guys is pretty fun and all, but they’re not you. They’re not gonna let me do this…” his voice trailed off as his hand trailed lower.

“I should hope not!”

Emmett rolled onto his back and pulled me on top of him, with an impish grin. “Well, you know I’ve got a thing for blondes, and Jasper is pretty good looking…”

“You!” My laughter was interrupted by the ringing of Emmett’s cell phone. I groped in his jeans pocket, ignoring his lewd suggestions as to what I should be doing with them while they were in there, and withdrew his phone. Seeing the name on the display I sighed and handed it over. “It’s Edward.”

Emmett winked at me. “Hey bro, you’re kind of interrupting something…whoa. You’re sure?”  Emmett pulled the phone away from his ear. “Jasper!” he yelled in the direction of the stairs, and then went back to the phone in his hand. “Sure thing bro, we’re on it.” Clicking off the phone he gently pushed me off him and with a sigh I moved back on to the sofa.

“What did Edward want?” I asked, as the others entered the room in response to Emmett’s yell.

Emmett bounced to his feet. “There’s been a vampire in Bella’s room.”

The rest of us stared at him in shock.

“Edward didn’t recognise the scent,” Emmett said rapidly. “He and Bella are on their way here, and he wants Jasper and I to go over and check the woods near Bella’s house. See where they went, see what we can find out.” He looked at Jasper. “Ready?”

Jasper nodded, and I closed my eyes briefly. I held my hand out to Emmett, palm up, and as his eyes caught on the scar he’d left there I knew he understood what I was saying to him without words. He smiled at me tenderly and for a moment gripped my hand. “I’ll be back soon as I can, angel,” he promised. “You just wait for me.”

I watched at the window as he and Jasper vanished into the forest, heading for Forks. Alice, Carlisle and Esme sat silently in the living room, waiting.

When Edward appeared from the garage, Bella two steps behind him, his face was taut with anger and he ignored everyone else as he headed straight for Alice.

“What happened?”

“I have no idea,” Alice sounded just as tense. “I didn’t see anything.”

“Why not?!” Edward hissed. “How could you miss something like this?”

“Edward,” Bella said softly, a frown on her face.

I had my back to them as I faced outside, but I could see the reflections in the glass as Carlisle moved towards Edward and Alice.

“It’s not a science Edward,” he said calmly. “You know…”

“He was in her _room_ ,” Edward snapped, ignoring Carlisle. “What if he’d still been there, waiting for her?”

“I would have seen that,” Alice countered.

“You’re sure about that?” Edward muttered sceptically. “Really?”

Alice’s nostrils flared with anger, but her voice was controlled when she spoke. “Yes, I’m sure. Bella was never in any danger- if she had been I would have seen it.” She crossed her arms tightly over her chest. “But Edward, you’ve got me watching Bella’s every step, watching the Volturi and their decisions, watching for Victoria’s return, not to mention everything else I keep an eye on for this family…and you want me to add MORE to this list? Charlie? The whole town of Forks? If I try to do too much, things will start falling through the cracks.”

“It looks like they already are,” Edward said in a hard voice. “If you’re watching Volterra, why didn’t you see them send…”

“Because I don’t think it’s them,” Alice insisted. “I’m watching Aro, I’m watching Bella…I would have seen a decision from Italy, I’m sure of it.”

“Who else would be in her house, in her _room_ , but leave Charlie alive?” Edward demanded.

“I don’t know,” Alice said softly.

“Helpful,” Edward snarled sarcastically.

“Edward,” It was Bella, her voice soft. “Stop it.”

He turned to look at her, and then his head dropped and he breathed deeply. “You’re right, Bella. I’m sorry. Forgive me Alice, I’ve been behaving inexcusably. I shouldn’t be taking my feelings out on you.”

Alice relaxed. “I understand. I’m not happy about this either! I’m just not sure what is going on.”

“Okay, let’s look at it logically.” Edward pulled Bella to the sofa and the two of them sat down beside Alice and Esme. “What are the possibilities?”

“Victoria?” Carlisle suggested. “We’ve been waiting for her.”

Edward shook his head. “No. I didn’t know the scent so it has to be someone I’ve not met. Maybe someone from the Volturi…”

“No,” Alice sounded very definite. “Aro hasn’t asked anyone to check up on Bella or us. I’m looking for that specifically and I _would_ see it Edward.”

“What if it’s someone else, acting non officially?” Edward mused. “Caius perhaps, or Jane? They have the resources to send someone I’m not familiar with.”

“But that doesn’t make sense,” Esme interjected. “If someone was supposed to wait for Bella Alice would have seen that. If they’d had any intention of hurting Bella or Charlie, Alice would have seen it because she’s attuned to those decisions, so it seems obvious that they had no intention of inflicting harm.”

“But what’s the point then?” Carlisle said musingly.

“See if I’m still human?” Bella offered tentatively.

“Possible,” Carlisle said.

I had only been half listening, most of my senses alert and focused outwards, waiting for any sign of Emmett’s return. Whatever the story was with Bella and the intruder in her room I couldn’t bring myself to even care greatly until I knew Emmett was safe, and not roaming around the woods with an unknown threat out there. He and Jasper together could handle most things, but until Emmett was home by my side I couldn’t relax. So it was with great relief that I heard the sounds of feet in the forest and identified them as Emmett and Jasper, running easily in the direction of home. Safe. Home. _Mine._

I sighed and turned away from the window, looking expectantly at the door that I knew they’d come in from. I glimpsed Bella’s eyes on me, and for a moment I felt a flash of resentment that she had caught me in such a vulnerable moment, my need for Emmett on clear display along with the relief of having him back. Another part of me was fiercely glad that she _had_ seen it, because I wanted her to know that this was so much bigger than just her and Edward…there were other lives and other loves on the line.

“Long gone, hours ago,” Emmett announced, bursting through the door. He crossed the room to me in a bound, and ducked his head to stare in my face. I touched his cheek and nodded silently and then he turned back to the room. “The trail went east and then south, and disappeared on a side road. Must have had a car waiting.”

“That’s bad luck,” Edward said sourly. “If he’d gone west…well, it would have been nice for those dogs to prove themselves useful.”

Jasper stepped towards Carlisle. “Neither of us knew the scent.” He held up a broken fern frond. “We thought maybe one of you…”

“No,” Carlisle smelled it and shook his head. “Not one I’ve ever met.”

Alice, Esme and I all smelled the crumpled leaf in Jasper’s hand, but it meant nothing to any of us.

“Maybe it’s just a coincidence?” Esme suggested timidly. “I mean…maybe it’s not about Bella at all, really. Our scent is all around her, maybe someone was passing through and got curious and wanted to know what draws us there?”

“Why wouldn’t he just come here then?” Emmett demanded. “If it’s curiosity why not just come to the source?”

“That’s what _you_ would do,” Esme smiled at him fondly. “But perhaps whoever it was is nervous…we’re a big group and they might be frightened to approach directly. We should remember that they didn’t hurt Charlie, so perhaps they’re not an enemy.”

I could tell Carlisle wanted to believe in Esme’s words. I hoped she was right too- much less trouble than other explanation. But Alice shook her head slowly.

“I don’t think so,” she said thoughtfully. “The timing of it was just too perfect…this visitor was so careful to make no contact. Almost as though they knew what I would see and what would slip past…”

“Does it really matter who it was?” Bella finally spoke again, her voice anxious. “The fact that it _could_ have been someone looking for me…well, isn’t that reason enough to move up our plans?”

“No,” Edward barely let her finish speaking. “No Bella, if we thought you were really in danger we would let you know. This is…confusing, more than dangerous.”

“Think of Charlie,” Carlisle said. “He would be so hurt if you disappeared.”

“I _am_ thinking of him,” Bella said in agitation. “He’s the one I’m most worried about! As long as I’m around he’s got a target on him too, and I can’t stand it!”

Esme patted her hand consolingly. “Don’t fret Bella. We’ll take care of things, including Charlie. We’ll just have to be more careful, that’s all.”

“More careful?” Bella said in disbelief.

I took Emmett’s hand and felt his lips in my hair. More careful…what else were we in for now?

 

It was decided that one of us would have to watch Bella at all times. Edward spent so much time with her that the rest of us wouldn’t be overly burdened by the responsibility, but there were still gaps and we agreed to fill them. Emmett was enthusiastic about the idea and eagerly volunteered to start and, somewhat reluctantly, I said I’d keep him company.

Naturally enough for Forks it rained.

Even wet I didn’t get cold, but I disliked the feeling of sodden clothing and wet hair plastered to my head, so I wasn’t in the best mood as Emmett and I sat in a tree outside the Swan house late that night.

“You really think this is worth it?” I grumbled.

“You can go home if you want,” Emmett said cheerfully. “I don’t mind.” He didn’t care one bit about rain and loved climbing trees. As I watched him, half resentfully, he turned himself upside down and walked on his hands along the branch until it thinned enough to make bearing his weight doubtful.

“I think I’d better stay and keep an eye on you,” I muttered peevishly.

Emmett did several handstand push ups and flipped himself right way up, landing like a cat. The branch bent dangerously under his weight but didn’t break. He grinned at me, hair flat with the rain and dimples flashing, and sat beside me. Wrapped in his arms and with my head tucked under his chin the rain didn’t seem so bad.

“It’s not too bad being out here,” he said consolingly. “Just you and me, no one listening in, not having to hear what everyone else is doing all the time…that’s pretty nice for change.”

I had to concede he had a point.

“I do kind of wish something would happen though,” Emmett continued thoughtfully. “It’s frustrating, all these potential enemies coming in and then getting away. First Victoria, now this…damn, I just want to kick some ass and end this shit.”

I kissed his throat. “If you don’t watch yourself, I’ll kick _your_ ass.”

Emmett chuckled and squinted towards the Swan house. “You know, I still don’t get it really.”

“Get what?”

“Why Edward does all this shit. I mean, don’t get me wrong, Bella’s fun and I like her fine, but…watching her sleep? That was some creepy shit when he was so obsessed with her at the start.”

I gave a snort of laughter, but Emmett just frowned, obviously thinking deeply. “I don’t get how he didn’t kill her back then. And now…I don’t know. He can’t touch her, not like I can touch you and I don’t…it’s not just about getting off baby doll, you know that. But loving you like that is so much a part of who we are and I find it kind of hard to understand how Edward can just give up even the possibility.”  

I shrugged. “I’m not the one to ask. I’ve never understood Edward.”

“I don’t think anyone understands Edward,” Emmett sighed. “He just makes life so damn hard for himself! He wants her, she wants to be changed…just do it already!”

There was a long moment of silence. I did not want to talk about Bella throwing away her human life to become one of us.

“I kind of understand where Bella’s head is though,” Emmett said, a little unexpectedly. “After all, I remember the way it felt when I was human and I saw _you._ ”

I tipped my head back to look at him, and his golden eyes met mine with that beautiful gaze of incredulous wonder that I remembered so well from the dying human in the forest.

“I’ll never forget that,” he went on quietly. “I can’t. One minute I was staring death in the face and I closed my eyes so I didn’t have to see it coming. Then I felt a rush of wind and I smelled something that made me think of summers on the river and my mama’s cakes and I opened my eyes and saw an angel.” Emmett touched my face with one reverent hand. “ _You._ I saw you. _So damn beautiful, Rosa girl._ Even with all the fucking pain of having half my body ripped open by that bear I couldn’t close my eyes and lose the sight of you. I would have done anything Rosalie, anything at all, just to stay by your side and look at you and smell you…and then, when there was the burning and you held me through that, I would have gone through the fires a thousand times just to have that moment of touching you.”

 _Oh, my heart._ The sincerity in his voice, the openness of his love and devotion even after all these years… _“_ I don’t deserve you,” I whispered. “How did I ever get so lucky, Emmett?”

Before I could say more I caught a flash of movement down below, and a moment later Edward swung up beside us. I wondered how much he had heard.

“Anything?”

Emmett shook his head. “Nothing. Bella turned her light off just a little while ago. I can hear her dad snoring.”

Edward glanced around. “I didn’t catch any scent while I was on my way here either. Nothing out of the ordinary at all…you two may as well go home now. I can take it from here.”

“You sure?” Emmett asked, and Edward nodded in response. “Okay then…we’ll scout around a little on the way home, see if we can find anything.”

“Okay.” Edward dropped from the tree, Emmett following him.

I let myself fall and Emmett caught me effortlessly behind his back, his hands under my ass and my arms draped around his neck. I kissed the back of his head and waggled my fingers at Edward. “See you later then.”

“Thank you,” he said, moving towards Bella’s house. “Take care.”

I hung over Emmett’s back, letting him carry me in the vague direction of home as I wondered how long this was going to go on.

“What are you doing?” Jasper dropped on to the sofa next to my feet. “Will it bother you if I turn on the tv?”

“Working on my computer virus,” I answered, tapping furiously at the laptop keys. “And no, I don’t care, turn it on if you want.”

Jasper gave an amused smile. “Going to take down the government, are you?”

“Not yet,” I muttered in exasperation, as I discovered another bug. “Damn thing…”

Carlisle looked up with a concerned frown from where he was reading a newspaper in the armchair. “Rosalie, I hope you’re not doing anything terrible…we don’t need the FBI on our doorstep because you’ve disabled the government’s computer systems.”

“I’m not going to _use_ it,” I said, in an injured tone of voice. “I’m just _creating_ it.” I typed in a few more commands and looked critically at the lines of code. “It’s like cars, Carlisle…you don’t necessarily drive it at 200 miles per hour, but it’s nice to know that your car is capable of it.”

“Rose, that’s not the best analogy,” Alice said cheerfully, leaning over my shoulder. “Not when we look at who has the most speeding fines in the family.”

“That’s only because you and Edward know where the police are hiding!”

Alice giggled. “No, it’s because you’re a hooligan driver!”

“Well, I know whose computer I’m going to use when the time comes to test my virus!”

“Carlisle…have you seen this?” Jasper’s voice interrupted our friendly banter. “This so-called serial killer in Seattle?” He nodded at the news program he was watching on the television.

Carlisle frowned. “I’ve been keeping up with the story. There’s a long article about it in this paper and I was wondering if we need to perhaps step in.”

“Step in? What has it got to do with us?” I demanded.

“It has to be one of our kind,” Jasper said calmly. “It’s odd though, that they’re so flagrant about it. Attracting so much attention…”

He and Carlisle exchanged glances.

 “You think there’s more to it?” Jasper questioned sharply.

Carlisle nodded reluctantly. “Perhaps a newborn. The attacks are so random and violent and messy.”

Jasper ran a hand through his hair. “I’ve thought the same,” he said quietly. “Possibly even more than one…I hoped I was wrong.”

“Have you seen anything, Alice?” Carlisle asked.

Alice sighed. “No, but I can try. Add it to the list…”

Emmett, playing Gratuitous Space Battles on the other computer, leaned back in his chair. “Why don’t we go to Seattle? We can check it out, see what we can find?” Obviously all the hunting and stalking we were being forced to do was having a bad influence on him.

“I’ll call Edward and get his opinion on it,” Carlisle said thoughtfully, pulling out a phone. “Edward? We’ve been talking about the Seattle killer and I’m starting to get concerned. It’s one of our kind, I’m sure of it, but it’s so careless. The details are in the paper, we’d appreciate your thoughts on it….What?.....Hmmm, no, I have no idea. I can ask the others….Okay. We’ll talk later.”

Carlisle shut off the phone, looking puzzled. “Alice, you didn’t clean up in Bella’s room when you were collecting her things the other day, did you? You didn’t put anything away where she might not find it? Her pillow, some clothes?”

Alice shook her head. “No. I just got her bathroom things and clothes and put them in a bag. I didn’t touch anything else.”

Carlisle seemed uneasy. “There seems to be some things missing since the sleepover weekend.”

Alice shrugged. “Well, it wasn’t me.”

I frowned at my laptop screen, scrolling through the lines of code looking for more bugs. Serial killers that could be vampires, vampires in Bella’s room and now missing objects…what was going on?

 

“I’ve given out the invitations,” Alice rambled on, brisk hands at work in my hair. “I’ve ordered the food and decorations I want and Jasper is going to pick them up. It’s going to be so much fun, Rose! When did we last have a graduation party?”

“They do lose their appeal when it’s the tenth time you’re graduating,” I murmured.

“Parties are _always_ fun,” Alice declared. “There you go! Your hair is so much fun Rosalie. I’m glad Bella’s going to have long hair too.”

“Have you told her about your graduation party plans?” I asked,

Alice nodded. “Edward made me…and oh, they’re on their way here now.” A brief frown marred her lovely face. “I guess we’re not going to school today. I’ll go and wait.”

I watched her leave the room and then tidied up the dresser. It was now less than a week until Edward, Bella and Alice graduated from high school, and Alice was full of plans for her party.

Downstairs Carlisle, Esme and Jasper were focussed on the news. The trouble in Seattle, again. They were all very concerned by it and had been on the verge of going to Seattle to investigate it several times, but something came up to stop us. Alice still had not seen any of us in Seattle, and we seemed caught up in an endless circle of waiting for Alice to see it while she waited for our decision.

I heard the Volvo in the drive, and then Edward and Bella entering the house.

“Hey Edward. Ditching, Bella?” Emmett’s voice, casually amused.

“We both are,” Edward said.

Emmett laughed. “Yeah, but it’s _her_ first time through high school. She might miss something.” I couldn’t help my smirk at the thought of how much time Emmett had spent day dreaming through classes and skipping school and missing everything over the years.

“Did you see that they’re considering a serial killer now?” Edward sounded serious.

I rearranged my dressing table, listening in. So he had come to talk about the Seattle business too- why did this have to be our problem?

“We can’t let this go on.”

“Let’s go now!” Emmett, bursting with enthusiasm at the thought of a fight and something to do. “I’m dead bored.”

I hissed in irritation, knowing that he’d hear me, and headed towards the stairs as I heard Emmett’s answering mutter, “She’s such a pessimist.”

“We’ll have to go sometime,” Edward said, glancing up at me as I reached the top of the stairs.

Carlisle shook his head. “I’m concerned. We’ve never got ourselves involved in this kind of thing. It’s not our business. We’re not the Volturi.”

“I don’t want the Volturi to come here,” Edward said reasonably. “Not now. It would give us so much less reaction time.”

“Oh!” Edward turned to Jasper. “I didn’t think of that. I see. You’re right, that has to be it. Well, that changes everything.”

Everyone looked confused. Apart from Jasper, who pushed his hands through his hair and shrugged.

“You should tell them what you’re thinking,” Edward murmured to him. “But what could be the purpose of this?”

Alice was beside Jasper in an instant. “What’s he rambling on about?”

Jasper seemed uneasy to have everyone’s attention on him. His glance flickered from one of us to the next, and ended on Bella.

“You’re confused,” he said quietly.

“We’re all confused,” Emmett grumbled.

“You can afford the time to be patient,” Jasper said to him. “Bella should understand this too. She’s one of us now.”

I tensed.

“How much do you know about me, Bella?” Jasper asked.

Emmett sighed theatrically and threw himself down on the couch to wait with a look of exaggerated patience. I perched on the arm of the sofa beside him.

Jasper had rolled up his sleeve. Our vampire eyesight could clearly see the chaos of overlapping scars that marred his skin, but we were all so used to them now that we scarcely noticed them. Human eyes were not so keep though, and Jasper had to hold his arm near a lamp and point them out before Bella’s eyes widened in recognition.

“Oh, you have a scar just like mine. Jasper, what _happened_ to you?”

We had all heard Jasper’s story but we sat quietly and listened to his serious words. I noticed how his southern accent deepened as he spoke, something that always seemed to happen unconsciously when he thought about his past.

Jasper told Bella the history of the southern vampire wars, the covens built and destroyed in the eternal struggle for blood and power. He told her the tale of the legendary Volturi massacres as they exerted their power and ruthlessly enforced their own agenda of secrecy. He explained the idea of newborn vampires as soldiers, with their exceptional strength, and then he told her of his creation at the hands of a vampire named Maria. Maria, who wanted her slice of power and influence, and who had seen in the charismatic soldier Jasper Whitlock a wealth of possibility. He told her about his early years and the fighting and training and building of armies, of creating newborns to use as pawns and destroying them when they outlived their usefulness. He talked about his increasing depression and disillusionment with that life, the difficultly of never-ending killings and the impact of the endless fear and hate and loss on one as sensitive to emotion as Jasper was. He told his story of escape, and then the tale of meeting Alice and the new world she had opened up for him.

“She told me what she’d seen of Carlisle and his family,” he finished, his expression soft. “I could hardly believe that such an existence was possible, but Alice made me optimistic. So we went to find them.”

“Scared the hell out of them too,” Edward added. “Emmett and I were away hunting. Jasper shows up, covered in battle scars, towing this little freak who greets them all by name, knows everything about them and wants to know which room she can move in to.”

“That’s a nice story,” Bella said softly.

I turned away to hide my face and bite back the ugly words that sprang to my lips. A _nice_ story? Was Bella wilfully blind to everything about this life that didn’t match with her fantasy dreams?

“I mean the last part,” she said. “The happy ending with Alice.”

“Alice has made all the difference,” Jasper said, his voice full of love. “This is a climate I enjoy.”

The moment passed though as Alice, hearing what Jasper had really been saying with his story, said quietly, “An army. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Jasper shrugged. “I thought I had to be wrong, that I was interpreting the signs incorrectly. It just makes no sense…what motive can there be to create an army in Seattle? There’s no history of violence, no feuds, no one to fight if you wanted to claim it. But for all that, it’s the only explanation that fits the facts. I’ve seen this kind of thing before, and I am certain now that it’s an army of newborns in Seattle. Probably about twenty, but totally untrained- they were created and set loose, and the situation is only going to get worse. The Volturi will have to step in. Actually I’m surprised they’ve allowed it to go on this long.”

“What can we do?” Carlisle asked unhappily.

“If we don’t want the Volturi to be involved, then we will have to go and destroy the newborns ourselves, and do it very soon,” Jasper said, his voice hard. “I can teach you how, but it will not be easy in the city. They’ll not be concerned with secrecy, but we will have to be and that will limit us in ways they are not. It would be better if we could lure them out.”

“Maybe we won’t have to,” Edward said bleakly. “Has it occurred to any of you that the only possible threat in the area that would call for the creation of an army is…us?”

I gripped Emmett’s hand.

“They’re not coming after us,” Alice insisted, pacing across the room. Her face bore the familiar look of concentration it always wore when she was trying to catch some elusive vision of the future. “Or else…they don’t _know_ they are. Not yet.” She looked at Jasper. “I keep seeing flickers. Not enough to get a clear picture, nothing concrete I can make sense of. It’s as if someone is changing their mind, over and over again and so quickly that I can’t get a good look…”

“Indecision?” Jasper sounded disbelieving.

“Not indecision,” Edward growled. “ _Knowledge._ Someone knows how your visions work and they’re playing with the holes in what you see. _Hiding_ from us.”

“Who would know that?” Alice whispered.

“Aro knows you as well as you know yourself,” Edward bit out.

Alice shook her head, but not as though she was fully convinced. “I would have seen if they’d decided to come…”

“Not if they didn’t want to get their hands dirty,” Edward sounded scathing.

“A favour?” I suggested. “Someone who has had trouble with the rules- perhaps they were offered a second chance instead of being destroyed. If they would just take care of this one little problem…” I felt Emmett’s thumb rubbing gently across the scar on my palm. “It would explain the Volturi’s slow response to the Seattle problem- they don’t let things go this far, not usually.”

“But why?” Carlisle was shocked. “There’s no reason for the Volturi to have any argument with us.”

Edward disagreed. “No, Carlisle. I wouldn’t have expected it so soon, because there were other thoughts at the forefront, but I’ve seen inside Aro’s head and he wants me, and he wants Alice. With his own gift and with the two of us he would have virtual omniscience. There was also the idea of our family in his head, and don’t be mistaken Carlisle, the family we’ve built here disturbs him. He doesn’t like that we grow stronger and larger…we’re the largest coven outside Volterra and he dislikes that you have…not _more_ than he has, but things that he wants.”

Bella looked terrified. I kept my face blank, fighting down my own fear as I thought of the Volturi and what I knew they were capable of.

“They’re too committed to their mission,” Carlisle said. “The Volturi would never break their own rules.”

“They’ll clean up afterward. A double betrayal,” Edward said grimly. “No harm done.”

Jasper shook his head. “No. I believe Carlisle is right- the Volturi do not break the rules like this. This…whoever it is, in Seattle, they have no idea what they’re doing. I would swear it is a first timer. It’s too messy and disorganised to be otherwise. Certainly not the Volturi. But they cannot let it go on, so they _will_ become involved.”

There was a long moment of silence as we all absorbed the words, putting it together in our minds and searching for a response.

“So let’s _go!”_ Emmett roared, pushing us back into life. “What are we waiting for?”

I touched the back of his neck gently. _Please don’t be reckless._

“We’ll need you to teach us, Jasper,” Carlisle said finally. “We cannot go in unprepared Emmett- Jasper can teach us how to go about this most effectively.” His face was set, but his eyes were sad. I knew how much Carlisle hated violence, and he would find the grisly task ahead of us hard to bear, no matter how necessary he also believed it to be.

“We should call Tanya,” Jasper said. “Five more mature vampires would make a big difference, especially Kate and Eleazar. We need to hurry though.” He handed Carlisle a phone, who took it and walked over to the window, speaking in to it quietly.

I looked down at Emmett, who was practically bouncing with excitement. My lips tightened. I hated his recklessness, the dauntless and careless way he approached danger. I was not a coward, but I was cautious and sometimes resented the way I seemed to be the only one who cared about consequences. It was the thing we fought about most, and it seemed as though there had been far too many reasons to fight about it since Bella Swan had turned up in our lives.

I snapped out of my reverie as Carlisle shook his head at Jasper, and I realised that the Denali clan had refused our request for help. It appeared we were on our own.

“This isn’t good,” Jasper said flatly. “It’s too even a fight. We’d have the upper hand in skill, but not numbers. We’d win, but at what cost?” His eyes flashed to Alice’s face, then over to Esme, Emmett and I.

I stared at him for a moment, realising what he meant. We would win, but it would be at a terrible price. If we went to Seattle, some of us would not return home. Rising to my feet I ignored everyone and stalked out to the garage.

I flung myself onto the floor and squirmed under Emmett’s jeep, breathing in the smell of oil and grease and trying to find some calm in the dim, confined space. I didn’t even know how I felt- fear and fury battled for prominence in my heart as I thought about what we were facing. To go to Seattle, to fight for my life against an army of newborns, knowing that Emmett was somewhere nearby facing the same? To see the rest of them risk it all…Esme, Carlisle, Jasper and Alice and Edward, my family in danger? And do it all for Bella Swan, _again?_

I ground my teeth in rage, fighting against my impulse to smash something. A moment later I heard footsteps, and saw Emmett’s big feet stop by the side of the Jeep.

“Hey babe, come on.”

I didn’t answer.

“Come talk to me,” he said cajolingly. “Come on out…please don’t make me get under there.”

“Don’t even bother unless you’re ready to listen to me!” I snarled. “I know what you think about this plan Emmett, and believe me when I say I don’t like it!”

He sighed heavily, and then with a thump and a grunt he slid under the Jeep beside me. “Move over.”

Sulkily I squirmed sideways to give him room. I could smell him now, mixed in with the scent of the vehicle, and I felt an unbearable ache at just the idea of losing him.

“So when are we all going to Seattle?” I asked bitterly. “Since it seems like we’ve all decided on destruction?”

“No one is going to die.”

“Oh, that’s bullshit!” I shouted furiously. “You heard Jasper- twenty of them! We can’t do that without casualties Emmett!”

Emmett laid his forearm across his eyes. “We just have to.”

I hissed in rage, unable to even form words I was so angry. Why, after decades of being so cautious and doing all we could to avoid attention were we suddenly going all out to court danger? _Bella Swan._

Several long minutes later, Emmett sighed deeply and moved his arms, rolling his head to the side to look at me. “If I touch you, will you bite me?”

I breathed deeply. “No.”

Emmett propped himself up on his elbow facing me, his head nearly touching the undercarriage of the Jeep. He smiled at me a little ruefully and began to gently stroke my hair. “I know you’re mad.”

I snorted. “That’s an understatement!”

Emmett impulsively kissed my lips. “Come on pretty girl. I know you don’t want to go to Seattle and do this…”

“I’m not scared!” I snapped, bristling. “I’m not a coward!”

“I know! Sorry, bad choice of words there…as if my badass Rosa girl is ever scared!” Emmett’s hand began rubbing my belly in a circular motion, chuckling quietly. “But you have to admit that we need to go and take care of this. It’s too close, and too risky to let it go on and wait for the Volturi. We don’t really have a choice baby doll.”

“I know we don’t have a choice,” I said grimly. “Not now, not after everything Edward’s done and how deep he’s in this with Bella. But not having a choice doesn’t make it easier for me to accept Emmett…if anything, having no choice makes me resent it more. I hate feeling forced in to things.”

“Yeah. I guess if anybody knows that it’s me,” Emmett said quietly. His circles grew bigger, fingers brushing the underside of my breasts and dipping low on my belly.

“I do get scared though,” I said in a low voice, not wanting anyone in the house to hear me talk about fear. “And right now, the idea of fighting…whatever this is…in Seattle terrifies me Emmett. Not because I’m scared of getting hurt myself, I don’t care about that really, but I’m so scared for _you._ I’m scared because you’re reckless and bold when you should be careful, and the idea of you getting hurt just tears me apart.”

Emmett’s hand pushed up my shirt and then resumed stroking my belly, now rubbing bare flesh. He bent his head towards me and laid a trail of kisses across my face, ending with his lips against mine.

“What if I promise to be careful?” he whispered, his breath feeling hot and close.

I laughed softly. “You don’t even know the meaning of the word.”

He kissed me again, his eyes inches away from mine and boring into me. “We’re not going like lambs to the slaughterhouse Rosalie. Jasper is going to train us so we’ll all have skills, we’ll have Edward to read minds and Alice to see what’s coming. We will _make_ the odds be in our favour.” Emmett pushed my straps down and palmed my bare breast, caressing and then pinching until I gasped, but he didn’t shift his gaze from my eyes.

“You say I’m reckless, and you’re not wrong about that,” he went on quietly. “Yeah, sometimes I’m an asshole who thinks with my fists and is too keen on having fun to give a shit about the consequences. But not when it comes to you, Rosa girl…I am never, ever careless with your life. I know that what we’re planning is dangerous but if I thought even for one second it was hopeless I would grab you up in my arms and run with you, and I wouldn’t give a fuck who called me a coward for it. You are what matters to me, in the end it’s only you, but I _know_ you Rosalie. I know what you’re capable of and I _know_ that you have the brains and the heart to do this. I’ll have your back, whatever goes down, and there’s no one else I trust more to fight with me than you.” Soft, butterfly kisses tickled my lips.

“Promise me,” I whispered. “Promise me you will be careful…” I curled my hands up into his hair and kissed him deeply. _“You’re mine, Emmett.”_

“Always,” he breathed. “You’re my world, angel girl, and I’m never gonna do anything to jeopardise what we have…oh, fuck it all!” he ended as he slid on top of me and cracked his head on the underside of the jeep.

I couldn’t help giggling at the ridiculousness of it, and Emmett shook his head at me. The next thing I knew he had lifted the Jeep right off the top of us and put it down with a thump three feet away and was back, pinning me beneath him and pushing my  legs apart with his thighs. My panties disappeared under his fingers and then my shirt was gone and most of his clothes; death and danger seemed very far away as I took him into my body and with kisses and touches and gasped words of love and need and desire we reaffirmed life.

“I love you,” Emmett mumbled sometime later, the two of us sprawled out on the garage floor. He kissed my head. “I really do love you…but why do we always end up having sex in the garage? Is it me that turns you on, or is it the cars?”

“Both?” I laughed, sitting up and looking around. “At least the BMW, and your Jeep is pretty hot, and the Porsche now- _not_ the Volvo.”

We headed back inside. The others were still in the living room- Carlisle, Edward and Jasper huddled around the computer, Alice and Bella on the sofa and Esme  was coming through from the kitchen with a drink and a snack for Bella. No one paid any attention to the reappearance of Emmett and I except Bella, who took one look at the bare chested Emmett and me wearing his t shirt knotted at my hip and blushed scarlet.

“Oh, don’t worry about Rosalie and Emmett,” Alice said, shooting me an irritated look. “You get used to them after a while…really, just be glad Emmett’s actually still wearing trousers.”

I narrowed my eyes at her and then stalked over to where the boys were all staring at the computer as Edward scrolled through news articles and the Seattle killings. Every now and then Jasper would make a low voiced comment.

“Have you made a plan?” I asked in a lull in the conversation.

“Not a firm plan, no,” Carlisle said quickly. “We need to prepare, and with Alice watching decisions from Italy we think we have a little time before the Volturi act.”

I nodded, and leaned over Edward’s shoulder to join in reading. I might not want to do this, but damned if I was going go to go into it with anything less than complete preparation.


	7. Preparations

“Rosalie! Emmett! We need to go or we’ll be late!”

I fastened the clasp on my bracelet and stood up. “We’re coming!” I shouted back down the stairs, and then looked over at Emmett. “You ready?”

“Yeah.” He finished tying his shoes and grabbed my hand. “Babe, why are we going to this graduation anyway? It’s boring enough when you’re getting a diploma, it’s like the ninth circle of hell having to sit there and watch someone else get one.”

I smiled as we headed downstairs to where Carlisle and Esme were waiting. “It’s a small town- people will notice if we’re not there. And besides Emmett, it’s our baby brother and sister graduating! How can we miss such an important milestone?”

Carlisle raised his eyebrows at us. “I hope you two are going to behave yourselves today.”

Emmett grinned. “Me?”

Esme began herding us out to the garage. “Yes, you Emmett! Come on now, Alice and Jasper have gone already, Alice wanted to drop something off to Bella beforehand. And Edward is going to ride with Bella and Chief Swan.”

“I could drive Alice’s Porsche,” I suggested brightly. “Pretend it’s a graduation present?”

Carlisle chuckled and tossed me the keys to my car. His Mercedes was gone and I supposed Jasper and Alice had driven in that. “I don’t think so Rosalie! You know the rules about drawing attention to us.”

“Yeah,” Emmett contributed. “I think one ostentatious car in the parking lot from this family is enough, and your BMW covers that pretty well baby doll!”

I rolled my eyes and slid in to the driver’s seat. Emmett swung in to the back with Carlisle, and Esme seated herself beside me and we took off for the high school.

We found Jasper waiting for us at the edge of the parking lot. He looked tense, and I wondered if spending so much time at home and away from human temptation was lowering his defences. Alice, almost obscured in a sea of identical graduate robes, waved to us from the back of the gym as we passed by on our way to the front doors. I couldn’t see Edward.

“Yellow,” I observed, looking at the robes. “Such a fetching colour.”

“Dr and Mrs. Cullen, good morning.” The teacher handing out the booklets with the order of proceedings greeted them at the door. It was my physics teacher from last year. “Lovely to see you again. You must be very proud and happy to have all of yours finished high school now! And Rosalie, how’s Dartmouth?”

“Wonderful,” I lied easily. “I love college.”

Emmett chuckled, and the teacher gave him an uneasy look and turned to the next family entering the gym, and the five of us made our way carefully through the crowd to our seats.

Emmett was right, graduation ceremonies were inevitably boring, even more so when you were just part of the audience. Emmett put his earbuds in and listened to his iPod and Jasper, seeming more distracted that I would have expected, pulled his phone out of his pocket and alternately read the newspaper on it and sent text messages. I listened to the speeches, but only to keep track of the number of times that words like ‘journey’, ‘beginning’ and ‘memories’ were used, a long standing game in the family.  Only Carlisle and Esme, playing the part of the proud and doting parents with such conviction that even I half believed them, paid proper attention.

We did throw up a cheer for Alice, when she finally appeared on stage to collect her (latest) diploma. She flashed a grin at us, but there was something in her face that bothered me. Edward walked behind her to receive his diploma looking faintly confused and I knew something was up.

I leaned across Emmett (who was whistling and stamping his feet and making a spectacle of himself generally) to Jasper. “What’s going on?” I asked, quietly enough that the humans around me would hear nothing. “What’s up with Alice?”

Jasper just shook his head at me, still frowning down at his phone. “We’ll talk about it later Rose. Just had word that Peter and Charlotte are nowhere near…I’ve been trying to get in contact to see if they could help us out but it’s impossible.”

I sat through the rest of the ceremony impatiently, momentarily relaxing enough to laugh silently when Bella’s name was called and she made it across the stage without falling down. Jasper smiled and held his palm out towards Emmett, who made a disgusted noise and slapped it- clearly they’d been betting on the likelihood of Bella managing to walk without tripping and Emmett had lost!

As soon as proceedings were over Alice jumped from the stage and fairly flew out the door. I grabbed the back of Jasper’s shirt so he couldn’t get away from me and followed him out of the gym, straight over to where Alice was standing by the Mercedes, her yellow graduation gown already off and bundled up in her hands.

“No photos?” I asked sarcastically, as Alice made a face at me. “But the yellow…it looked so elegant.”

“What’s going on?” Emmett appeared at my side. “You three shot out of there like bats out of hell…too much temptation Jas?”

“No,” Jasper’s tone was clipped. “It’s not about me.”

“Bella’s worked it out,” Alice said softly. “The newborn army in Seattle and the vampire in her room are connected. Those things she couldn’t find…they were things she’d worn, her pillow she’d slept on- things with her _scent_. He took them so that others would know it and be able to find her. Everything that’s happening…it’s about Bella.”

 _Isn’t it always?_ I didn’t say it aloud, but my lips were tight as I watched Emmett absorb the news.

“I haven’t told Edward,” Alice added. “Bella only realised when I was helping her get dressed and she didn’t want him to get upset right before the ceremony. Do you know how _difficult_ it is to keep your mind occupied and closed to Edward for that long?” She sighed theatrically. “Bella has to be right though. The vampire in her room was a test, to see if it was possible to get past my visions. Whoever is behind it keeps changing their minds so I can’t s _ee_ them, but it all fits together. They’re coming for Bella.”

“And we have to stop them.”

It was Edward, his normally calm face furious as he stalked towards us. Alice held out a placating hand.

“Bella talked to you?”

“I can’t believe we didn’t see it,” Edward ground his teeth. “How could something like this have got past us?”

“They knew,” Alice said simply. “They knew how my visions work and they used the gaps against us.”

Carlisle and Esme had extracted themselves from conversations with teachers and now approached us. Their happy smiles faded as they caught the tension, and frowns took over as Edward quickly sketched out the newest theory. As soon as he’d finished talking he took off, to watch over Bella as she ate dinner with her father, but for once I didn’t have the slightest desire to mock his overprotectiveness. The six of us who remained stared at each other silently, until eventually Alice broke the silence.

“Oh well,” she said, with resigned shrug. “Armies and murder and mayhem may have their place, but we’ve got a party to set up. Let’s go home.”

Alice had gone all out for her party. I found myself being bossed into decorating the living room and directing caterers where to set out food while the boys found themselves draping miles and miles of fairy lights around the trees on the driveway. Carlisle went back into town- twice- for ice, while Esme set up a coat room and moved several particularly valuable or favoured pieces of art upstairs to Carlisle’s study. Alice reached such a fever pitch of excitement that I wished Jasper would use his gifts to calm her down before she gave us all a headache.

I couldn’t blame her for being excited though. The house looked spectacular, and although hanging out with humans wasn’t really my idea of a good time I knew Alice loved her parties and was expecting a full house. It would certainly be more humans than had ever set foot in our house before…in fact besides Bella and the occasional delivery man there hadn’t really been any.

Edward seemed calmer when he and Bella appeared later. He hunted up Jasper and Carlisle and the three of them spoke intently about our plans to go to Seattle and how Bella’s new idea affected them. I lounged elegantly against the piano and listened intently.

“I don’t like it,” Jasper said flatly. Unlike Edward, who protected Bella from even the idea of danger, Jasper was not promoting any comforting illusions about the war we had found ourselves in. “We’ll have no outside help- our requests have either been denied or I’ve not been able to make contact- and the numbers are not on our side. I don’t like gambling when the stakes are this high.” His eyes flickered unwillingly to where Alice glittered under the party lights, intently sorting cds.

Bella looked sick, and clung to Edward’s hand while he soothed her. I wondered if she caught the edge of desperation in his face, but then there was the sound of a vehicle in the driveway and the party began.

It was a good party I suppose, or at least it was for the human guests invited. The food disappeared, and everyone seemed to be smiling and laughing as they talked and danced and moved. It didn’t surprise me that the entire senior class and most of the junior class seemed to be there- my family might make people uncomfortable but that didn’t stop the fascination with us. This singular opportunity to see inside the mansion of the reclusive Cullen freaks, so ridiculously unlike anything else in the conservative town of Forks, was something that I’m sure none of them wanted to miss. 

I kept out of the way for the most part, sitting on the top step with half a glass of champagne in my hand for a prop while I watched the party. I didn’t want people going upstairs, and no one was likely to try and push past me. Emmett mingled for a while and then joined me on the stairs. If the family in general made people uneasy, Emmett and I tended to make them downright uncomfortable. Emmett’s size and inescapable air of menace scared everyone, and no matter what I did to blend in (and I admit I rarely tried very hard) being tall and blonde and aesthetically perfect made that impossible and I always ended up making people feel awkward. But this was a night for Alice and Bella, and I wasn’t interested in doing anything that might spoil it for them.

I was laughing at Emmett singing along with the music when my attention was caught by Edward, who had left Bella’s side and was working his way purposefully through the room and over to the kitchen door. Tilting slightly to see past the stair railing I saw Alice standing motionless in the shadows, Edward’s head bent towards her as he spoke urgently.

“Something’s happened,” I said quietly and Emmett, unusually on edge for him, stopped singing and was on his feet in an instant. I rose to join him just as Edward appeared, his face like granite.

“Are Carlisle and Esme in the study?” he asked.

Emmett nodded and before we could even ask Edward what was going on he had vanished in that direction. Alice and Jasper sped up the stairs a second later and Emmett and I wordlessly followed them to the study where Carlisle and Esme were on their feet, eyes wide.

“I saw them,” Alice said, without preamble. “The newborns. Not in Seattle though...they’re coming here.” Her hands twisted together anxiously. “One of them carried Bella’s red shirt.”

Silence. Emmett pressed against me from behind, his arms coming around me to hold me close. “When?” he asked roughly.

Alice glanced around. “We’ve got four days.” Her face was bleak.

“Well, at least now we know,” Carlisle said quietly. “The decision’s been made, even if we were not the ones who got to make it. How many did you see Alice?”

“Twenty one,” she said tonelessly.

“It will likely be less,” Jasper looked intense. “Newborns fight amongst themselves constantly. So it will be less…still too many though.”

“What do we do now?” Esme asked quietly.

“Move up preparations,” Jasper answered. “That’s all we can do. Training needs to start tonight so you can learn as much as possible about destroying them. Alice- keep watching and see if you can narrow things down. We’re on the defensive, but I want it to be as much on our terms as possible and if we know when and where they’ll be coming from we may be able to choose our position.”

“We’ll need to protect the town as much as possible,” Carlisle murmured, taking Esme’s hand.

The window was open, and almost as one we all scented the unmistakeable odour of a wolf. _The Quileutes._ Emmett’s arms tightened. “What the hell?” he muttered.

The doorbell rang. Carlisle held out a hand to stop us.

“No,” he said quietly. “They are Bella’s friends…do nothing.”

Emmett growled.

“It’s Jacob Black and his friends,” Edward said, his head to the side as he listened. “Alice, you should go down and get Bella, she should be told about what you’ve seen. Emmett and Rosalie, you need to stay up here with me.” He smiled without humour. “Think of what would happen if they got angry…we can’t risk it with so many humans here, and the two of you are too antagonistic. I think it’s better if I stay out the way too.”

Alice flitted downstairs. Jasper gave Edward a pointed look and followed her- there was no way he would be able to stand back as she approached the werewolves.

Edward’s fists were clenched as he listened in with both ears and mind to what was happening between Bella and her friend Jacob downstairs. I listened to what I could hear of Bella’s words, and then heard Alice approach and tell her of her vision.

“Jasper doesn’t like that she’s talking in front of the wolves,” Edward murmured. “He doesn’t trust them, not at all…oh, Jacob Black, why must you antagonise everyone you speak to?...Oh _hell.”_

“What?” Emmett grabbed Edward’s arm with crushing force. “What are they doing?” Emmett moved towards the door, but Edward’s hand shot out and stopped him.

“No Emmett.” A strange smile crossed Edward’s face. “Well, isn’t _that_ an interesting idea.” Half chuckling, Edward looked back at the rest of us. “It seems we’ve got some new allies in this battle…”

“The wolves?” I hissed. I cocked my head to listen to what I could hear from downstairs and heard Jasper’s talk of coordination and the eagerness in the voices and laughter of the Quileute boys. “They can’t be serious! But then…”

Carlisle caught my eye. “They’ve honoured the treaty for seventy years Rosalie,” he reminded me. “We’ve worked together before. Really, destroying vampires and protecting the town is what they are born and made for…” His arm was around Esme’s waist and he smiled down at her. “Werewolf assistance could make _all_ the difference in this battle.”

“They’re coming tonight,” Edward said. “Jasper’s invited them to join us for some lessons and training in newborns.” His smile was wide. “I would never have thought of it…but it’s brilliant. The newborns won’t even know they exist. We’ll have surprise, we’ll have skill and knowledge that they don’t have, and with the werewolves on our side the numbers look a lot better.”

Emmett’s eyes were sparkling. “This is going to be fucking _awesome_.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Edward said. “But the odds are very much on our side now.” He sighed as we heard the werewolves leave, and made for the stairs. “Let’s just get through this party and then we can focus on learning what Jasper has to teach us.”

I gave Emmett an elbow in the ribs and raised my eyebrows at him. “Don’t get cocky- we might have the odds in our favour now but it’s still going to take work and I want e _veryone_ coming out of this okay.”

“Rose is right,” Carlisle said quietly. “Don’t underestimate what we face Emmett- overconfidence could be our undoing.”

 

The forest clearing we used for baseball was dark, the moon hidden behind the clouds, when we gathered there in the wee hours of the following morning.

“We should have bought a bat,” Emmett commented, swinging an imaginary one. “We could have had a game while we’re waiting.”

“Edward won’t be long,” Carlisle said. “And the Quileutes should be here soon too…Alice?”

“I don’t know,” Alice scowled and folded her arms. “My vision doesn’t work with them so I can’t see _anything._ Ugh. I don’t know how you all live like this! It’s like being blind.”

I rolled my eyes. “Welcome to the rest of the world, you psychic freak.”

Alice wrinkled her nose at me, but we were then distracted by the arrival of Edward and Bella. Only moments after that I found myself instinctively moving into place in a line with my family, Emmett and Jasper at the spear point, facing the woods at the approach of the wolves.

“ _Damn,”_ Emmett breathed beside me. “Did you ever see anything like it?”

I met Esme’s wide eyed glance with an identical look of shock, because coming towards us was not the five or six wolves we had been expecting, but _ten_ of them. Enormous, menacing and terrifying…the memory of Ephraim Black rose in my mind and I understood a little more how he must have felt when he faced us, his traditional enemies, so outnumbered all those years ago.

Carlisle stepped forward to greet them. “Welcome.”

“Thank you,” Edward responded in an oddly flat voice. I realised he was speaking for the wolves, for the alpha- the big black beast in the front of the pack. “We will watch and listen, but no more. That is the most we can ask of our self-control.”

“That is more than enough,” Carlisle answered. “My son, Jasper, has experience in this area. He will teach us how they fight and how they are to be defeated, and I’m sure you will be able to apply this to your own hunting style.”

“They are different from you?” Edward asked for the alpha.

“Yes.” Carlisle nodded. “They are very new, only months old to the vampire life. Like children in a way. They will have no skill or strategy, but will have brute strength. As of now their number stands at twenty- ten for you, ten for us, it shouldn’t be difficult.”

I heard the rumble from the wolves, and I could almost sense their eagerness. Like Emmett, I thought, fighting back an urge to laugh. They can’t wait to do this.

“They’ll come across the mountains in four days,” Carlisle continued. “Alice will watch for them, and we will coordinate where best to intercept their path.”

“Thank you for the information, we will watch.” The gleaming wolf eyes lowered, as the bodies sank one by one to the ground, watching us intently.

Jasper stepped forward, looking wary. Edward nodded at him reassuringly, and with a grimace Jasper turned his back on the wolves and faced the family.

“Carlisle’s right,” he said calmly. “They’ll fight like children. Remember two things- _don’t_ let them get their arms around you, and secondly, _don’t go for the obvious kill._ That’s all they’ll be prepared for. If you come at them from the side and keep moving they’ll be too confused to fight effectively and our task will be relatively simple. Emmett?”

Emmett grinned menacingly at Jasper and stepped forward. “Bring it, brother.”

Jasper shook his head. “Emmett’s probably our best example of a newborn attack- straightforward and relying on strength. So give it your best shot…try to catch me.”

“I’ll _try_ not to break anything,” Emmett muttered dangerously, and then charged.

It didn’t last too long. Emmett had the strength, Jasper had the speed and the know-how. They’d been wrestling and fighting together for years and knew each other well, and Jasper used all that knowledge to catch Emmett out, coming at him from behind and grabbing him, his teeth an inch from Emmett’s neck. Emmett swore, and Jasper grinned and jumped back.

“I want to show Bella something now,” he said easily. “Alice...come on.” He glanced across at Bella. “I know you worry about her, watch and you’ll see why it’s unnecessary.”

It was like watching an intricately choreographed dance. Jasper, with the predatory grace of a big cat, lunging and stalking the tiny Alice who, with eyes closed and a half smile on her face, saw his moves ahead of time and simply stepped out of the way. It ended when Alice laughed and moved the other way, landing on Jasper’s back with her lips on his neck in a kiss and her face alight with a smile. Jasper laughed too, and shook his head ruefully.

“Frightening little monster,” he said to her affectionately, and then looked across at Bella. “See? She looks delicate and they may try to go after her as an easy kill, but she’ll see them coming a mile away. She’s safer than any of us, really.”

Bella nodded and I heard the wary rumble from the wolves. Alice’s abilities had impressed them.

“My turn,” Edward demanded, pushing forward, his face bright. “Watch out.” He began stalking Jasper, and I leaned forward slightly to watch.

This was a more even fight. Edward was usually the fastest and could read all Jasper’s thoughts straight out of his head, but he wasn’t familiar with this kind of fighting and Jasper, after all his years doing it, was able to fight primarily by instinct. The two of them circled and lunged and snarled and crashed together but neither was able to gain the upper hand, and eventually Carlisle cleared his throat and they separated, laughing.

“Call that a draw,” Jasper said, shaking his head. “Come on, back to work…Rosalie, your turn.”

I stepped forward and Jasper looked at me, considering. “They will be going for the easy kills, and any males may target you as a weak link. Females won’t, but males…just watch your back.” I scowled at him and he held up his hands. “I’m not saying you are! But appearances…they’ll target Esme, Alice and then you. Knowing that means we can be prepared for it and use it to our advantage. Now come on, Rose…show me what you’re made of.”

I knew I wouldn’t best Jasper (and I didn’t) but I did better than most watching would have assumed I would. In fact, the style of fighting, of avoidance and coming in from the sides and doing the unexpected suited me- I’d spent years coming up with devious ways to make up for not being the strongest or fastest or a psychic when it came to fighting with my siblings! And while the subject didn’t arise in training I was also aware of the fact that I had killed before, ruthlessly and brutally, and knew I could do it. I would have no attack of conscience or hesitation when it came time to put this training to the test.

The training went on for hours, although it didn’t feel like it. There was so much to learn, and I was uncomfortably aware that the consequences for mistakes could be devastatingly high. As Jasper drew things to a close, Edward stepped forward, frowning slightly.

“The pack thinks it would be helpful to be familiar with each of our scents- so they don’t make mistakes later. If we could hold very still, it will make it easier for them.”

“Certainly,” Carlisle said immediately. “Whatever you need.”

He waved at us, and we stood motionless as the pack advanced towards us. The impact of the sight and smell of ten monstrous wolves was felt to the very core of my being, but I held still, my head high as they paced towards us. Jasper stiffened and I knew he didn’t trust them, but Carlisle stood motionless with his hands loose and relaxed as the alpha stood in front of him. Emmett, beside him, was grinning and seemed to be finding the whole thing nothing more than a joke. I noticed with a rush of amused affection that as each wolf sniffed at him Emmett bent forward, hands behind his back and nostrils flaring as he scented each of them back in turn.

The plans were set. The wolves and my family would go one step beyond a treaty that left us each living peacefully separate lives and work together to eliminate this new threat. After that…who knew. I had a flash of unease at how much the wolves now knew about us, about our strengths and weaknesses, but pushed it aside. Not now.

Bella was a problem with our plans. She could not be part of the fight, but nowhere felt safe enough for Edward to leave her there alone. Jacob wanted her out at the reservation which I personally thought was safe enough, but Edward didn’t like that idea either. It wasn’t until Jacob offered to use his wolf scent to obscure her own Bella smell and hide her somewhere Edward suggested that he reluctantly agreed. We decided then to use scent to have things as much on our terms as possible- Bella could lay a false trail to the place we felt offered us the best position. It was all arranged to be to our advantage as much as possible…and yet as I walked home in the early dawn light, my hand clasped loosely in Emmett’s as he talked animatedly about what was coming, I couldn’t stop the feeling of unease.

 

The phone rang later in the afternoon the following day. I was sitting with Alice at the computer as she shopped, offering my opinions which she occasionally listened to but more often just shook her head at and explained why I was wrong.

Alice flipped open the cell phone. “Edward….sure. But…oh. Hmm, well okay. See you soon.”

She slipped the phone back into her pocket. “Sorry Rose, change of plans. I’m going to babysit Bella for a little while. Edward wants to talk to Jasper.”

“What about?” I asked. Jasper and Emmett, playing chess by the window, looked up and Carlisle and Esme paid attention too. “What’s gone wrong now?”

“Nothing’s wrong!” Alice frowned at me. “You’re always so pessimistic, Rose! Oh well, you’ll know soon enough anyway.” She sighed. “Edward’s going to sit out the fight.”

“He’s _what?”_ I was incensed.

“All right,” Emmett grinned. “Who cares? More for me.”

I glared at Alice. “Something to do with Bella, right?”

Carlisle frowned at me. “Please Rosalie, don’t start.”

“She doesn’t want to be apart from him, and he’s anxious over leaving her with only the werewolf,” Alice said. “Now, I’m going to her house and Edward will be back soon. You can sort it out with him.” She disappeared out of the door, flying through the forest.

I tightened my lips. “So I’m to understand that we’ve just lost a fighter…for a fight where the numbers are already uneven and not in our favour?”

“It won’t make that much difference,” Jasper said, clearly thinking rapidly. “Really Rosalie, it won’t. With the wolves on our side we’ve got the advantage, and if Edward is too worried about Bella to focus then he’s going to be a liability. He’ll be better off out of the way in that case.”

I narrowed my eyes. Yes, _he_ would be better off out of the way. But what of the rest of us? What of Emmett, determined to charge in and wreak havoc and ready to do so with reckless courage? What of Esme, potentially being targeted as an easy kill? “I can’t believe this. _He_ gets us in to all this, and now he’s going to sit it out?”

“Come on baby,” Emmett began, but I cut him off.

“Don’t. Just don’t even start…I don’t want to hear it.”

We sat in silence until Edward entered silently. He took in our face, pausing slightly as he looked at me.

“Alice told you then?”

Jasper nodded at him. “Yes. It doesn’t matter really. It would have been good to have you, obviously, but we’ll manage.”

Edward looked unhappy. “I am sorry. I would rather…well. But to be apart from her is…”

“It’s cool dude,” Emmett stretched and grinned at Edward. “More for me…it’s gonna be fun.”

I hissed, and Edward faced me again. “I’m sorry Rose, I know you don’t like it but I’m doing what I have to do.”

I stared at him. _If something happens to Emmett because you’re not there, I will hunt you down and kill you myself._ I couldn’t stop the thought from coming into my head, and although I wouldn’t have voiced it I knew Edward would hear it.

His golden eyes met mine. “I’d expect nothing less from you Rosalie.”

 _Don’t act like I’m a monster, Edward. It’s not just you and Bella on the line. You don’t seem to believe anyone else’s love measures up to yours, but they do…Carlisle and Esme, Jasper and Alice, Emmett…_ My words petered out into a tangled mess of emotions as I did something I rarely did and opened my mind up to Edward, wanting him to _know_ what I thought about my beloved Emmett and his place in my life, and my gut wrenching horror over the idea of harm coming to him. _There is so much more than you and Bella at risk here!_

Jasper felt the emotional storm and I saw him wince, but my eyes stayed on Edward as he actually cringed.

“I’m sorry,” he said, and this time his voice sounded desolate. “I wish I could…but she needs me, and that’s all.”

“I didn’t expect you to change your mind,” I said quietly. “I just wanted you to know.” And unable to deal with anymore I turned and walked away.

Surprisingly it was Jasper who sat down next to me in the porch swing some time later as I stared out at the forest, my arms wrapped tightly around my body. He didn’t touch me or say anything at first, but of course it was Jasper- he didn’t have to. I felt the waves of peace, of fuzzy happiness and calm washing over me and a moment later my arms dropped and I slumped back in the seat, resting my head on his shoulder and feeling his body shake with a gentle laugh.

“I’d shout at you for that…if I could be bothered,” I murmured dreamily.

“It was hard work,” Jasper commented. “Perhaps you’re learning to resist me?”

“Or else I was just really mad.”

“That too.” Jasper patted my leg. “I hope you don’t mind that I came out here instead of Emmett- he wanted to but I told him I’d talk to you first.”

“I don’t mind.” I breathed in Jasper’s scent, feeling his hair tickling my ear and his shoulder, narrower and bonier than Emmett’s, strong under my cheek. It occurred to me suddenly how odd it felt to touch him like this. My long held aversion to being touched by anyone but Emmett was well known in the family, and none of them pushed it. Well, Alice did, but I tolerated it from her because it was usually about hair and dressing up and makeup, and she was smaller than me and a girl… I realised what a measure of the trust I had for this tall, quiet blonde ‘brother’ of mine that I could sit here with him like this.

“It will be okay Rose,” he said quietly. “This fight…I believe that we will do this without casualties now. The werewolves will make such a difference that we won’t even notice Edward is not there. Do you really think I would put Alice in a situation where she was at risk?”

“She can see them coming,” I murmured. “She’ll be careful. She’s not…she’s not like _Emmett_.”

Jasper’s hand tightened on my knee. “No,” he allowed. “She’s not. But you don’t need to worry about him Rosalie- you saw him last night in training. He knows his usual bull headed methods will not work well with newborns and he has already absorbed enough strategy to change that. He didn’t like being beaten last night and his competitive edge is working for him now because he’ll do anything to win. You watch him when we’re training tonight. He will have changed his approach and with his strength he’s going to be unstoppable.”

Jasper rested his head against mine, and we were both quiet for a minute. “Besides,” he said finally, a laugh in his voice. “I don’t worry about Emmett for the simple reason that when it comes to the fight he’s going to have _you_ at his back!” He met my eyes and I could see the sincerity shining in their golden depths. “You’re strong and fast and devious, and you’ll do what you have to do to take them down when the time comes. I don’t need to concern myself that you’ll turn squeamish, or hesitate to do what’s necessary because of some misguided sense of pity. So stay with him- you’ll keep your head when he might not and he’ll lend you his strength if you find you need it and the two of you will come through it easily together.”

I laced my fingers through his. Big, male hands that weren’t Emmett’s…and I wasn’t afraid. “Thank you Jasper,” I said at last.

 “You all forget sometimes, that although I don’t hear the words in your heads like Edward does I feel what’s in your hearts,” Jasper said, his voice low. “You and Emmett- I know what there is between you. I feel the way you love him, and I feel the strength in how he loves you in return…when it comes to love, Rosalie, the two of you burn like the sun. On my honour I believe that we will win this battle with or without Edward. You won’t lose him.”

“Hey.” It was Emmett, padding quietly out on to the porch. “You hitting on my girl Whitlock?”

“Considering I value my life, that would be a no!” Jasper responded cheerfully. “I couldn’t say who’d tear me apart faster if I tried anything, you or Rose!”

Emmett and I glanced at each other. “Alice,” we said in unison, and then the three of us laughed.

Emmett nudged me along the swing so that he could squeeze in beside me. I wriggled comfortably in between the two boys, feeling the comforting bulk on either side of me and leaned back with a sigh.

“Feel better, angel?” Emmett asked, looking at me curiously. “Geez Jas, what did you do to her? She looks fucking stoned!”

Jasper grinned. “Yes, I may have overdone the calm a little bit. Ah well, may as well enjoy some downtime before this all kicks into gear.”

“Yeah,” Emmett said lazily. “Guess so.” He spread his arm across the back of the seat, my head against the crook of his elbow and his hand resting carelessly on Jasper’s far shoulder and then he pulled the two of us closer to him, our three heads coming together in the embrace.

“Love you Rosa girl,” he muttered into my ear, then speaking over my head to Jasper, his voice low and serious for once. “Thanks, brother.”

 


	8. Battle and Aftermath

“Soon Alice?” Emmett bounced on his feet, shadow boxing at the air. “This waiting bites.”

Alice’s eyes were focussed inwardly. “They’ll catch our scent in a few more minutes.”

I glanced around the clearing. Carlisle and Esme stood side by side near Alice, hands touching lightly, while Jasper paced behind them. He didn’t seem particularly anxious, and when he caught my eye he offered a small smile.

“The waiting is always the most difficult part,” he said thoughtfully. “Too much time to think. It’s harder to bear the thought of battle than the reality.”

I nodded fervently. I felt strong and fierce and confident, but as the minutes ticked by and the anticipation of the coming massacre grew stronger I was becoming as impatient as Emmett. I knelt on the ground and retied the laces in my boots, just for something to do with my hands.

Emmett dropped to a crouch beside me. His face was alight with excitement and his eyes, a lighter gold than I’d ever seen them after our recent feast, gleamed. He took hold of the end of my long braid and held it to his face for a moment before he pulled the neck of my t shirt away from my back and dropped my hair inside my shirt, smoothing everything down with a gentle caress.

“Just to keep it out of the way,” he said quietly. “Don’t need anything catching hold of all that pretty hair, angel girl.” He took my hand and turned it palm upward, tenderly tracing the mark he had left there before kissing it firmly. “I love you Rosa.”

I cupped his face in my hands and pressed my forehead to his, gazing in to his eyes. _Mine, mine, mine…beautiful Emmett._ “Be safe,” I breathed. “I love you.”

“They’ve caught our scent,” Alice said distantly. “They’ve split up…half of them will be with the wolves in a moment, then the others will be here. Get ready.”

“Watch my back,” Emmett said seriously, pulling me to my feet and wrapping me in tight hug.

“If you watch mine,” I returned with a grin.

“Done.” Emmett said, and slapped my palm before grasping my hand, scar to scar, and holding on to me as we waited for what we knew was coming.

The newborns entered the clearing in a screaming rush, and suddenly my world narrowed down to nothing but the furious red eyes and the danger they posed, and my own instinctive response to it. There was no time to think as one leaped at me, mouth opened in a vicious scream and arms reaching forward to grab. With a snarl I somersaulted under the outstretched hands and came up behind him and wrenched off the head, immediately flinging it as far as I could. I heard Emmett’s whoop and roar behind me, but I was already moving, whirling and ducking through the chaos, using every single one of the tricks Jasper had taught me to bring about death and ensure our victory.

There was no time to stop and look around, but I caught glimpses of the others as I fought. Esme looking beautiful in her ferocity, and Carlisle fighting with grim determination as the two of them held their ground. Alice was nearby, making even killing seem like a graceful dance as she spun and darted between the enemies menacing her on the field. Jasper was everywhere at once, shouting direction and encouragement as he was able to, bringing an end to newborn after newborn with cold efficiency. And Emmett, bold and brave, using all his strength and skill to destroy those who threatened us, always within reach of me as what had been our baseball field became a killing field. 

Our training had been thorough and the newborns were in no way prepared for the defence and assault they encountered with us. It was little more than a rout, and we were nearly done when the wolves came bounding in to the clearing and brought about the end of the final hold outs.

“Carlisle- start the fire,” Jasper directed, piling up a jumble of body parts and the moving around the clearing. “Everyone else, find the pieces. We must destroy them all.”

Carlisle threw a lighter at me. “Rose, take care of that for me.”

I caught it and flicked it at the pile Jasper had begun to build. Almost immediately the flames roared and a thick cloud of choking purple smoke began drifting skyward. The heavy smell of it brought back a sudden and involuntary memory of that first, horrifying pyre I had seen in Volterra and I backed away with a shudder. Knowing me as he did Emmett was by my side almost immediately, wrapping me up in his big bear hug and kissing my face fervently.

“Okay, my angel girl?” he asked, tipping my face up to search my eyes.

I nodded wordlessly. This was not Volterra, we had just won and we were all safe...

Emmett pulled my braid out from where it was still securely tucked into my shirt, wrapping it around his fist and holding my head close to his chest as he bent protectively over me. “You did real good, baby,” he murmured softly. “Come on now, let’s finish cleaning up this mess so we can go home.”

As I turned back to the pyre I looked over at Carlisle and Esme, standing together at the side of the clearing and looking down, to something that was obscured by the scrubby brush. Jasper stood beside them, glowering. As I moved closer I saw what they were looking at and my eyes widened in shock.

It was a girl. Younger than me, maybe fifteen, small and slight. She cowered before Carlisle, Esme and Jasper and her red, newborn eyes held nothing but fear.

“What were you thinking?” Jasper’s face was tight with anger as he looked at Carlisle.

“She hurt no one,” Carlisle said softly. “She’s a child, Jasper- she didn’t know what she was doing and she has surrendered. She deserves a chance.”

Jasper shook his head, but before he could argue there was a sudden high pitched scream and the agonised howl of a wolf. I whirled around to see one last newborn, somehow overlooked, wrap his arms around one of the wolves and squeeze. My view was obscured in the next second by the other wolves converging on them, but nothing could block out the sound of their snarling and growling and above it all the keening, constant howl of an animal in agony.

“Jasper, keep an eye on this young one,” Carlisle ordered, already running towards the wolf. “Rosalie, come with me, I might need help.”

The pack scattered in front of Carlisle, until he could drop to his knees by the body of the wolf lying there injured, the blood pooling on the ground. That was why Carlisle had asked me to help, I thought, I was the only one who had a chance of being close to that free flowing blood and not losing control. I knelt at his side and reached a hand towards the russet fur of the wolf. It was Jacob, Bella’s friend, and as I looked at the damage I suddenly found myself looking into the eyes of Ephraim Black.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw the shimmer of a wolf transforming and then one of the Quileutes was kneeling beside me. He looked older, and as Carlisle nodded and called him Sam I realised this was the alpha wolf.

“Most of his right side bones are crushed,” Carlisle said, rapidly assessing the damage in front of him. “The bleeding looks worse than it is…I don’t know about internal damage.”

“We heal fast,” Sam’s deep voice was in my ear. I wondered how he could bear to be so close to us in his vulnerable man shape.

“Yes,” Carlisle murmured. “The bones…Sam, I need to set the long bones in his leg now, if they heal as they are he’ll be crippled. It would be easier if he could phase back.”

Sam shook his head. “He can’t, not now…not until he calms down. Can you try with him in the wolf form?”

“It will hurt,” Carlisle warned. “I don’t have enough morphine to account for the size of him now…”

“Carlisle,” Alice’s strangled voice. “The wolves have to get out of here. Right now!”

I looked sharply as where Alice stood, her hands holding either side of her head tightly, her face horrified. “Carlisle…quickly. It’s the Volturi, they’re coming and we’ve only got minutes.”

Carlisle’s eyes met mine. “Rose, you have to help with this leg. He can’t even move with it as it is. Sam,” he turned to the alpha. “The Volturi are coming and you need to get your people away. There’s not much time. I can get Jacob’s shoulder back in and pull the long bones back into place, and then you’ll have to get him back home as well as you can. We will deal with the Volturi and if you’ll allow me to break the terms of the treaty I will come to the reservation to treat Jacob properly as soon as I’m able to.”

Sam nodded tersely and spoke to the wolves clustered around him. I didn’t pay attention though, instead I bit my lip and fought my natural aversion to being so close to the danger of the wolf as Carlisle directed me to hold Jacob steady while he attempted to manipulate the dislocated joints in.

“I think one of us should have gone to veterinary college,” I muttered, trying not to hurt the animal beneath my hands more than I had to. Carlisle grinned at me, and then frowned as he manoeuvred the damaged limbs. I gritted my teeth against the howls of agony as I took one enormous paw and held it still as Carlisle aligned and splinted the bones.

“It’s all I can do now,” he said, turning to Sam who has phased back to his wolf form. “He has probably two and a half usable legs to get him home- if he’ll allow Rose and I to get him on his feet you should be able to support him from the sides.”

The big black wolf whined, and wrinkling my nose slightly at the smell I slid my arms underneath Jacob’s shoulders and, at Carlisle’s count, lifted him upright, shuddering at the hoarse, choking scream he couldn’t hold back.

“Edward’s coming,” Alice murmured, her eyes closed.

I slipped out from between Jacob and another wolf who pressed close to him to offer support, and moved towards Alice.

“The Volturi?” I asked quietly.

She shook her head, still not opening her eyes. “Soon. It will be fine though Rose, don’t worry.”

My gaze rose to the distant mountain peaks where I knew Edward and Bella had been, and saw a second spire of smoke, thinner than the thick clouds billowing out from our clearing, but an identical purple colour. Vampires, up on the peaks…

“What happened?” I said urgently, aware as I did so that the wolves had disappeared into the trees now and Carlisle was beside me, squinting up at the sky.

“They’re okay,” Alice said quickly. “Edward and Bella are fine…here they come now.”

She opened her eyes and turned expectantly towards the trees, and sure enough a second later Edward sped from between the trees, a limp Bella clasped gently in his arms.

“What happened?” Esme flitted over, her face a mask of concern as Edward laid the unconscious Bella tenderly on the grass. Carlisle knelt beside her, fingers pressed to her wrist as he counted her heartbeats.

“Bella just fainted,” Edward said. “She knows that Jacob got hurt…it was too much.”

“The werewolves have incredible healing powers,” Carlisle remarked. “Thank goodness! His injuries were fairly horrific, but Jacob Black is a strong young man and he is going to be fine in short order. He was healing even as I examined him, it was remarkable.”

“What about that smoke up there?” Emmett, hurling another few pieces onto our bonfire, shouted across the clearing. “What the hell happened to you guys Edward?”

“It was Victoria,” Edward said, his face expressionless. “It was her all along…she had a companion and he was the one she was using to mask her true intentions. I killed them both.” He glanced down at Bella. “Is she coming round Carlisle?”

I moved away from the small group clustered around Bella, towards Emmett. He was whistling as he made a last sweep of the area for pieces, and grinned at me easily when he saw me approaching.

Jasper was standing in the shadow of the smoke haze, his face hard as he stood over the one remaining newborn. “You can’t have her,” he said flatly to the girl. “Sit down and do not move or I will tear you limb from limb and throw you on to the pyre with your comrades.”

I stopped next to him. The newborn Carlisle had allowed to surrender was on the ground before him, blood lust clear in the luminous red eyes she had focussed on where Bella lay.

“What are we going to do with her?” I asked Jasper, noticing as I did so that he was rubbing his arm absently. “Are you okay?”

“A bite,” he shrugged dismissively. “Ridiculously careless of me- I should have known better.”

The girl on the ground moaned piteously, and I remembered the newborn burn and felt sorry for her. “I want it so _much,”_ she hissed. Her eyes met mine briefly with a look of confusion and then flicked away. She knew what I was, but I had stood beside a human without killing them and she didn’t understand that. “Why?” she moaned. “Oh, I’m so _thirsty…”_ Her voice rose into a shrill wail of pain, and when Jasper growled menacingly at her and she cringed back on to the earth, her hands clutching at the grass.

Carlisle was beside us in an instant, a restraining hand place on Jasper’s arm. “Have you changed your mind, young one?” Carlisle asked calmly. “We don’t want to destroy you, but we will if you can’t control yourself.”

“How can you stand it?” the girl moaned in a high, clear voice. “I _want_ her.” She shook her head frantically.

“You must stand it,” Carlisle told her gravely. “You must exercise control. It is possible, and it is the only thing that will save you now.”

Emmett moved up behind me, wrapping his arms around me and dropping his head to breathe in the scent of my hair. “That’s the last of it,” he told Carlisle and Jasper quietly. “All the pieces are burnt now…it’s done.” His head cocked to the side, listening for a moment. “They’re coming.”

Swiftly he, Carlisle, Jasper and I converged on where Edward, Alice and Bella stood. The eight of us a united front as we stood and waited expectantly for the four shrouded figures that emerged from the smoke haze.

“Welcome Jane,” Edward said courteously.

I recognised the child like blonde female from Volterra so long ago and almost imperceptibly pressed my back harder against Emmett, who was still holding me against him. He understood, and although he moved nothing else I felt his thumb trace the scar line on my palm and I took comfort in his loving presence.

“I don’t understand.” Jane was staring at the newborn girl who was still huddled on the ground, her heads clutched in her hands.

“She has surrendered,” Edward said briefly. “Carlisle gave her the option.”

“There are no options for those who break the rules,” Jane said flatly.

I was reminded of what her master, Aro, had said to me so long ago- _I am not a demanding vampire Rosalie, and those who earn my favour are well rewarded…but there will be no mercy for those who break my rules_ \- and I couldn’t stop the shudder as I realised what fate lay in store for that red eyed baby who hadn’t known any better.

“Just out of professional curiosity, how many were there?” Jane asked. “They left quite a wake of destruction in Seattle.”

“Eighteen,” Carlisle answered, adding dismissively. “All brand-new. Unskilled.”

“All?” Jane’s voice was sharp. “Who was their creator?”

“Her name was Victoria,” Edward answered. “I dealt with her.” His tone invited no questions.

Jane narrowed her eyes. “You there,” she snapped at the newborn. “What’s your name?”

The girl’s lips were pressed together and she glared at Jane. A second later her body contorted with agony and an ear piercing scream echoed through the clearing as Jane, a small smile on her delicate lips, used her power to inflict pain to punish her for her defiance.

I kept my face blank and my body motionless, concentrating only on the feel of Emmett’s hands on mine and the way his breath tickled my ear. _Don’t think of it Rosalie, don’t remember it…_

“You name,” Jane said tonelessly, once the screaming stopped.

“Bree!” the girl gasped, before she screamed and convulsed again.

“She’ll tell you anything you want to know,” Edward said through gritted teeth. You don’t have to do that!”

“Oh, I know,” Jane said, and the humour in her voice made my flesh crawl. “Bree,” she continued. “Is this true? There were twenty of you?”

The girl was gasping, her terrified face pressed into the grass. “Nineteen or twenty, I don’t know for sure! There was fighting on the way, and I don’t know the names…”

“This Victoria- she created you?”

“I don’t know that either,” Bree whimpered. “Riley never used her name. I didn’t see, that night…it was so dark and it hurt…” She shuddered, and behind me Emmett massaged my arms silently. “He didn’t want us to be able to think of her. He said our thoughts weren’t safe.”

So it had been Victoria, playing with the gaps in Alice’s visions to orchestrate our destruction all along. And if she hadn’t followed Edward and revealed herself there then we would never have known.

“Tell me about Riley,” Jane demanded. “Why did he bring you here?”

“Riley told us that we had to destroy the strange yellow-eyes here,” Bree babbled, more than willing to talk now. “He said it would be easy. He said the city was theirs and they were coming to get us. He said once they were gone all the blood would be ours. He gave us her scent…he said we would know we had the right ones because she would be with them. He said we could have her, whoever got to her first.”

Jane’s lips pursed. “It seems he was wrong about the _easy_ part.”

Bree nodded and sat up carefully. “I don’t know what happened. Riley left us, and he didn’t come to help like he promised he would. It was so confusing…there was fighting and everyone was in pieces and I was afraid.” She shuddered. “I wanted to run away but I didn’t know where to go. _He_ said they wouldn’t hurt me if I stopped fighting.” She looked at Carlisle with pleading eyes, but his watching face remained impassive.

“Ah, but that wasn’t his gift to offer, young one,” Jane said, and the gentle tone of voice she used now was more terrifying than her previous flat tone. “Broken rules demand a consequence.”

She looked across as us. “Well, I can’t deny that I am impressed. I’ve never seen a coven escape this magnitude of offensive intact. It would seem that there’s not much left for us to do,” Jane sighed. “We’re not used to being rendered unnecessary. It’s too bad we missed the fight…it sounds like it may have been entertaining.”

“Yes,” Edward said sharply. “And you were so close. It’s a shame you didn’t arrive just a half hour earlier…perhaps you could have fulfilled your purpose here.”

Jane met Edward’s glare unflinchingly. “Yes. Quite a pity how things turned out, isn’t it?”

Emmett shifted his weight behind me, and I pressed my palm against his and wondered if we would ever know the full story.

Jane eyed the newborn Bree. “Felix?” she said, bored.

“Wait,” Edward interjected. He looked towards Carlisle. “We could explain the rules to the young one. She doesn’t seem unwilling to learn. She didn’t know what she was doing.”

“Of course,” Carlisle said immediately. “We would certainly be prepared to take responsibility for Bree.”

Jane’s expression was half amused and half disbelieving. “We don’t make exceptions,” she said flatly. “And we don’t give second chances. It’s bad for our reputation. Which reminds me…” Her eyes pierced our group, going straight to where Bella clung to Edward’s arm. “Caius will be _so_ interested to hear that you’re still human, Bella. Perhaps he’ll decide to visit.”

“The date is set,” Alice spoke up, her voice light. “Perhaps we’ll come to visit you in a few months.”

Jane shrugged indifferently, never even looking at Alice. “It was nice to meet you Carlisle- I’d thought Aro was exaggerating. Well, until we meet again…”

Carlisle nodded, his face tight and pained.

“Take care of that, Felix,” Jane said, indicating Bree with a small, languid hand. “I want to go home.”

As Felix moved towards Bree I half turned away. I might have torn apart her comrades earlier in the day and laid the flame to the pyre, but I could not bring myself to watch this cold blooded execution of a child. I laid my head against Emmett’s chest and his big hand cupped my face, blocking my view so I couldn’t see. I heard it though, the scream that was abruptly cut off, and I bit my lip and felt once again the hatred for this world of shadows and magic and monsters that I was condemned to inhabit. A moment later a fresh billow of smoke drifted across the field and the smell of burning vampire flared stronger. Emmett pressed his forehead to mine and I gazed into his soft eyes and brushed my lips across his.

“Come on Rosa girl,” he whispered, and his voice sounded tired. “We’re done here- let’s go home.”

I nodded wordlessly. Emmett looked across at Jasper and said quietly, “If you don’t need us anymore Rose and I are going home.”

Jasper shook his head. “It’s fine.” His eyes scanned the clearing. “It’s over now.”

“I need to go to the reservation and see what I can do for Jacob,” Carlisle said calmly. “Edward, please come with me to help with communication. Bella…you had better go home with Alice and Esme. Your dad is probably still over at the Black’s house and you’re supposed to be shopping with Alice, not out in the woods with Edward.”

Emmett didn’t want to wait for anyone else. Tugging on my hand he pulled me towards home, speeding up into a run until we were nearly flying, neither of us saying a word until we were back in our room, when Emmett crushed me to him in a hug, his face in my hair.

“Damn it, you smell like the fire,” he muttered, pushing me away.

I could smell it too, and I shuddered and moved towards the bathroom, running the water in the tub. Emmett and I both stripped and climbed in, and then with slow and gentle hands Emmett washed my hair, combing out the long, tangled wet waves with careful concentration when he was done. If there was one thing I’d taught Emmett to do in our years together it was take care of my hair, and I relaxed under the soothing feel of his hands.

“There you go,” he said, finally breaking the silence. “Now you’ll smell like you again…summer days on the river and my mama’s cakes. It’s a good smell, baby doll.”

“You seem sad,” I said eventually.

“Not sad,” Emmett said softly. “Just…I don’t know. Shit got real today, baby doll.”

“Yeah.” I knelt up in the water and began shampooing his curly dark hair, massaging my fingers down to his scalp to get rid of the smell of death that hung over him like a cloud.

“I mean, we did a real good job,” Emmett looked up at me, bubbles dripping down his face. “We had to do it, and we kicked ass and it was even pretty fun.” He shrugged, and I tipped a jug of water over his head to rinse his hair. “But it was kind of hard to watch you out there, angel, and then the Volturi turned up and it really wasn’t a game.”

I wrapped my arms around him and held him tight, his face buried in my breasts. I felt the bunched muscles in his shoulders smooth out as he relaxed and I slid my leg over his so that I was straddling his lap. He ran his hands down my back and held my hips, pulling me closer for a minute, before he leaned back away from me and smiled at me softly.

“I love you, pretty girl.”

I sat down on his thighs, stroking his familiar, beloved face. “I love you too.”

“It was just a bit more real than I expected today,” Emmett went on quietly, a moment later. “You know I mostly just take life as it comes and don’t worry too much about the what-ifs, but I’m not an idiot Rose, and I’m not heartless. That little girl at the end… We killed a lot of people today. We had to do it and I’m glad we were able to do it without any of us getting hurt and I’d do it again in a heartbeat, but for all of that…damn Rosa, I looked at that little girl at the end and I felt sorry for them. All of them. They were just unfortunate bastards who were in the wrong place at the wrong time; they didn’t even know what they were doing and they died for it.”

He did not have a face made for sadness, my Emmett, and he had said he was not sad but as I looked into his eyes I saw an emotion that could only be described as grief. I curled my fingers into his hair and leaned into his chest, feeling his hands drifting across my skin.

“It could have been us,” he murmured. “If it wasn’t for Carlisle changing us and teaching us, if I hadn’t had you there from the start…”

“You’ll always have me.”

“And then those freaks from the Volturi,” Emmett continued. “Hell Rosa girl, I’ve never seen any of them before and I never want to see any of them again! He gave me a pained grin. “God, I don’t mind admitting to you (although I’ll rip you apart if you tell anyone else!) that that little bitch scared the hell out of me!”

I surprised myself by laughing. “That’s about the most sensible thing you’ve ever said, Emmett! Jane IS scary as hell! And sometimes, courage is admitting that you’re afraid.”

Emmett wrapped me in his arms and then stood up, stepping out of the bath and taking me with him. He wrapped me in a towel and took me back into the bedroom, sitting down on the window seat with me bundled up on his lap.

“Then I’m going to be very courageous, my Rosa girl, and say that I was afraid today.” His golden eyes were serious. “Afraid for you, angel, and afraid for the family too, when the Volturi came. I don’t know what they want with us, but this whole situation is damn messed up and I know there must be more to it somehow.”

I nodded. “I know. This Bella and Edward situation doesn’t help at all. Graduation is over now, the two of them need to sort out her affairs and get it done. I know that Bella being a vampire will create a whole new load of problems, but at least it will take the family out of the Volturi’s crosshairs.”

Emmett’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “I thought you were against her changing?”

I dropped the towel and fitted myself against the curves of his body, feeling his sweet breath on my face as I looked out the window at the sunlight. “I am. I think that being a vampire isn’t the right choice for anybody, not really. But people make bad choices all the time, and sometimes they work out. Sometimes too, previous decisions and actions make things inevitable and you find yourself in the position of not really having a _right_ choice to make. You just have to do the best you can with what you’ve got in front of you.”

 “I like what’s right in front of my right now,” Emmett grinned at me, combing his fingers through my damp hair.

I laughed gently and leaned my face against his neck. “Love me Emmett, please.”

Big hands held my face so tenderly as he kissed me, long and slow and sweet. “I will love you always, Rosa girl.”

The love that shone out of his face warmed me and pushed away the fear of future events that haunted us, and I knew that whatever happened, the two of us would be together. Carlisle may have changed me and brought me to this shadow world inhabited by those who should be no more than mythology when I would never have chosen this, but he had also given me Emmett. It was Emmett’s love and warmth and innate happiness that would act as my sun, and the two of us together would make this world ours, and it would be the right place for us. Whatever happened in the future.

 


End file.
